3V  3177  .W47  A3  1899 
Wheeler,  Wilmot  Henry. 
Self-supporting  churches  anc 
how  to  plant  them 


REV.  C.   H.  VVHEELKR. 


SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES 


-AND- 


HOW  TO   PLANT  THEM. 


Illustrated  by  the  Life  and  Teachings  of 

REV.  C.  H.  WHEELER,  D.  D. 

For  Forty  Years  Missionary  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M. 
at  Harpoot,  Turkey. 


A  Book  for  Christian  Workers  at  Home  and  Abroad. 


BY  W.  H.  WHEELER. 

Introductions  by  Rev.  Cyrus  Hamlin,  D.  D. 
And  by  Rev.  James  L.  Barton,  D.  D. 


BETTER  WAY  PUBLISHING  COMPANY, 
Grinnell,  Iowa. 


A  WORD  TO  THE   READER. 

Please  read  and  criticise  this  little  book  with  great  care;  for 
the  theme  which  it  discusses  is  a  vital  and  far-reaching  one. 
Then,  if  from  time  to  time  you  can  send  the  writer  some  of  the 
results  of  your  own  studies  of  method,  I  will  try  to  make  the 
discussion  in  later  editions  still  more  complete  and  worthy  of 
the  great  and  good  man  whose  doings  and  teachings  constitute 
nine-tenths  of  the  book  as  it  now  stands. 

Yours  in  Christian  love  and  fellowship, 

W.  H.  Wheeler. 
Grinnell,  Iowa,  Aug.  ii,  1899. 


Copyright  1899.  by  W.  H.  Wheeler. 

Printed  at  the  Herald  Office,  Grinnell.  Iowa. 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

By  Rev.  James  L.  Barton,  D.  D., 

Secretary  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  Boston,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A. 

The  author  of  this  book  is  the  son  of  Dr.  Wheeler, 
whose  life  it  commemorates.  The  son  had  unu- 
sual opportunity  to  study  the  life  and  work  of  his  fa- 
ther; for  they  were  associated  together  for  three 
years  (1888-1891),  at  Harpoot,  Turkey,  where  Dr. 
Wheeler  lived  and  labored  for  forty  years.*  While 
there,  he  was  a  close  observer  and  student  of  mis- 
sionary methods  and  policy,  both  historically  and 
theoretically.  The  result  of  these  observations  and 
the  conclusions  to  which  they  have  led  the  author, 
are  embodied  in  this  work;  which  is  more  distinctly 
a  study  of  mission  methods  than  a  mere  biography 
of  Dr.  Wheeler. 

Attention  is  called  especially  to  the  chapters  upon 
self-support  [Chapters  Twelve  to  Fourteen]  which 
embody  much  that  is  historical,  presenting  many  un- 
answerable arguments  for  the  application  of  the  prin- 
ciple to  all  mission  work  both  at  home  and  abroad. 
It  is,  of  course,  understood  that  precisely  the  same 
methods  which  were  .employed  in  the  Eastern  Tur- 
key Mission,  and  which  are  to-day  in  most  success- 
ful application  there,  cannot  be  put  into  practice  in 

*The  first  seventeen  years  of  the  author's  life  were  also  spent  at  home  in 
Turkey,  and  added  many  important  matters  of  detail.— Ed. 


4  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

exactly  the  same  way  in  every  other  field.  The  con- 
ditions of  the  people,  their  ability,  their  social  sur- 
roundings, their  divergent  characteristics,  all  have  a 
bearing  upon  the  subject  and  must  be  considered  by 
the  missionary.  It  cannot  be  denied,  however,  that 
the  principle  and  policy  of  self-support  on  the  part 
of  native  institutions  and  work  is  the  only  true 
method  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  missionary 
work  and  the  only  one  that  insures  permanency  and 
independence. 

The  book  is  commended  to  all  active  missionaries, 
— to  the  ofificers  of  missionary  societies, — and  to  all 
others  who  are  interested  in  the  question  of  mission- 
ary policy  and  methods,  as  containing  data  and  sug- 
gestions which  cannot  fail  to  be  suggestive  and  val- 
uable. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

By  Rev.  Cyrus   Hamlin,  D.  D. 

Hamlin  and  Wheeler  were  two  Maine  boys,  sev- 
enty and  eighty  years  ago;  one  born  in  Oxford 
County,  1811,  and  the  other  in  Penobscot  County, 
1823.  They  were  far  apart,  but  they  were  foreor- 
dained to  the  same  work,  in  the  same  empire,  and 
to  preparatory  studies  in  the  same  institutions,  Bow- 
doin  College  and  Bangor  Theological  Seminary. 

This  did  not  bring  their  fields  of  labor  into  the 
same  vicinity,  for  one  was  on  the  Bosphorus,  the 
other  on  the  Euphrates;  one  on  the  west  side  of  the 
empire,  the  other  on  the  east.  But  both  were  work- 
ing for  the  same  people,  the  Armenians;  and  both 
these  Maine  boys  had  a  healthful,  earnest,  laborious 
youth,  fitting  them  to  "endure  hardness,"  as  good 

soldiers,  in  the  battle  of  life. But,  as  Hamlin  has 

written  of  himself  in  "My  Life  and  Times,"  we  will 
drop  him  here,  and  attend  only  to  Wheeler,  except 
as  illustration  may  demand  a  reference  from  one  to 
the  other. 

Wheeler's  father  kept  a  hotel,  before  the  Maine 
Law  had  existence;  and  but  for  the  excellent  mother, 
there  would  have  been  no  college  on  the  Euphrates. 
But  the  mother's  influence  was  predominant;  not 
only  all  pervasive,  but  ever  pervasive.  As  a  son  to 
his  father,  he  was  obedient,  active,  useful,    intelli- 


6  BIOGRAPHICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

gent.  But  on  two  points,  his  convictions  of  duty 
and  his  father's  will  came  into  conflict.  He  refused 
to  carry  rum,  brandy,  or  other  alcoholic  drinks  to 
hotel  guests,  and  endured  severe  penalties  with  the 
most  obstinate  courage,  rather  than  yield  this  im- 
portant point;  telling  his  father  he  would  do  every- 
thing else,  but  would  never  help  make  men  drunk; 
and  the  boy  prevailed,  for  he  had  right  and  God  on 
his  side. 

It  was  the  same  with  regard  to  attending  certain 
religious  meetings.  The  boy  told  the  father  that  he 
would  submit  to  any  punishment  he  chose  to  inflict; 
but  he  should  attend  religious  meetings.  And  he 
did;  and  the  father  gave  it  up.  This,  surely,  is  the 
stuff  out  of  which  heroes  are  made.  It  is  suffering 
for  righteousness'  sake,  without  any  earthly  defender 
whatever,  [except  a  noble  mother.*] 

From  early  life,  he  was  a  conscientious  boy.  If 
he  knew  a  thing  to  be  wrong,  he  would  not  do  it. 
He  was  also  regarded  as  a  religious  boy;  though  it 
was  not  until  his  fourteenth  year  that  he  openly  gave 
himself  to  Christ  as  his  Master;  and  thenceforth  he 
knew  no  other  master. 

He  determined,  without  much  delay,  to  strike  out 
for  an  education,  in  order  to  become  a  preacher  of 
the  Gospel.  With  assistance  from  the  Education 
Society,  he  struggled  through  College  and  Seminary. 
But  on  leaving  college,  he  made  haste  to  pay  back 
every  dollar  that  he  had  received.  This  was  char- 
acteristic of  him;  and  by  teaching  school  for  three 
years,  he  accomplished  his  object. — He  had  paid  for 

*See  body  of  book. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INTRODUCTION.  7 

his  education  by  his  own  efforts;  though  greiteful 
for  the  temporary  aid  he  had  received. 

When  he  finished  his  course  at  the  Theological 
Seminary,  he  would  gladly  have  given  himself  to  the 
foreign  missionary  work.  But  he  felt  that  he  must 
make  a  home  for  his  mother,  and  so  he  was  settled 
for  three  and  a  half  years  over  the  church  in  Warren, 
Maine,  where  his  earnest  and  successful  ministry  is 
still  gratefully  remembered  by  survivors  not  a  few.* 
— In  the  meantime,  his  mother  having  been  offered 
a  pleasant  home  with  a  daughter,  he  offered  himself 
to  the  American  Board,  and  was  sent  to  Harpoot,  on 
the  Euphrates.  Here  was  the  field  for  the  man,  and 
the  man  for  the  field. 

In  the  Harpoot  region,  but  little  missionary- work 
had  as  yet  been  done.  For  though  the  fearless  and 
indefatigable  Dunmore  had  driven  the  Gospel  plow- 
share through  the  hard  soil,  he  had  not  stopped  to 
sow  and  reap. —  Here  Mr.  Wheeler,  while  learning 
the  language,  surveyed  the  field;  and  saw  poverty, 
oppression,  grinding  taxation,  ignorance,  supersti- 
tion and  Moslem  outrages  that  made  the  blood  of 
freedom  boil.  But  his  life's  work  was  to  be  with 
the  Armenian  people,  whom  he  soon  found  to  be  an 
exceedingly  interesting  people,  capable  of  a  large 
Christian  development. 

As  to  the  policy  of  the  mission,  he  decidedly  had 
the  lead;  but  his  very  able  and  admirable  coadjutors, 
Messrs.  Allen  and  Barnum,  knew  how  to  work  with 
him,  and  to  carry  out  with  divine  skill  the  measures 
he  proposed. 

♦See  letter  from  Warren  church,  in  Appendix. 


8       BIOGRAPHICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

There  were  two  principles  that  must  be  and  were 
governing  principles  in  the  Harpoot  mission.  One 
was  that  of  "vernacular  education,"  so  called;  the 
other,  that  of  "self-support,"  for  churches  and 
schools. 

The  former  principle  worked  well  for  a  time;  [for 
it  was  not  meant  for  permanent  application.]  But 
the  school  naturally  grew  up  into  a  college;  and  al- 
though Mr.  Wheeler  had  denounced  the  college 
system,  [when  prematurely  introduced]  nothing 
showed  the  sincerity  and  strength  of  his  character 
more  than  the  readiness  and  unquenchable  zeal  with 
which  he  [later  on]  connected  the  Harpoot  city  ed- 
ucational institutions  with  College  Hill;  so  that  hun- 
dreds in  primary  studies  are  in  the  college  system, 
and  numbered  as  college  students. — Marsovan  Col- 
lege was  also  at  its  birth;  and  the  Bebek  Seminary, 
though  reduced  to  the  vernacular  grade,  was  grow- 
ing right  up  into  a  college  as  rapidly  as  possible; 
and  Dr.  Anderson  could  not  prevent  it;  till  at  last 
there  are  eight  colleges  in  the  Turkish  empire. 

But  Mr.  Wheeler  thought  his  western  brother  al- 
most insane,  in  [so  soon]  developing  education  up 
into  the  college  grade;  and  made  known  his  views, 
in  nervous  English.  But  Divine  Providence  gave 
the  West  a  chance  to  help  the  East  in  keeping  pos- 
session of  College  Hill,  and  so  the  East  and  the 
West  came  together,  and  there  was  "no  more  sea," 
and  no  mountains  between  them!* 

But  Mr.  Wheeler's  great  and  distinguishing  work, 

*For  a  fuller  discussion  of  this  whole  subject  see  "The  Teaching  of  Eng- 
lish" and  "Arguments  Pro  and  Con,"  in  Chapter  Fifteen. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INTRODUCTION.        g 

and  one  in  which  he  had  no  peer,  was  the  applica- 
tion and  development  of  the  principles  of  self-sup- 
port in  all  the  works  of  education  and  evangelization. 
The  people,  however  poor,  must  support  their  insti- 
tutions of  every  kind.  It  required  great  nerve  to  ap- 
ply and  enforce  this  principle  among  a  people  so 
poor,  so  oppressed,  so  unused  to  do  anything  for 
themselves,  and  so  destitute  of  what  we  consider  the 
comforts  of  life.  But  he  was  right.  And  he  proved 
so  clearly  that  the  success  of  the  evangelical  work 
depended  upon  the  application  of  this  principle,  that 
he  became  its  apostle.  He  proclaimed  it.  He 
preached  it  on  all  occasions.  He  demanded  of  mis- 
sionaries that  they  should  adopt  this  principle  as  the 
governing  one  of  all  their  measures.  This  they  were 
often  slow  to  do;  doubtless,  in  some  cases,  too  slow. 
But  their  work  had  been  established  under  very 
different  circumstances.  The  first  converts  in  the 
Ottoman  Empire  were  often  imprisoned  and  cruelly 
beaten.  Sometimes  they  were  ejected  from  their 
own  shops  and  houses,  and  their  property  destroyed. 
It  was  thus  absolutely  necessary  to  relieve  such  by 
immediate  and  energetic  [but  temporary]  measures, 
in  order  ts  save  the  imperilled  lives  which  their  per- 
secutors hoped  would  perish  under  the  weight  of  per- 
secution. Even  in  a  single  night,  thirty  evangelicals 
were  once  driven  from  their  homes,  at  about  9:00 
o'clock — an  hour*  after  the  oriental  bed-time — out 
into  the  streets  of  Galata;  their  persecutors  intend- 
ing that  they  should  have  no  refuge,  but  the  awful 
police  prisons,  among  imprisoned  robbers,  thieves, 
and  murderers.  But  swift  relief  saved  them;  but  it 
came  from  without. 


10  BIOGRAPHICAL  INTRODUCTION. 

The  first  churches  in  the  Western  Turkey  field  orig- 
inated in  circumstances  that  made  the  idea  of  self- 
support  [quite  as  soon  as  Mr,  Wheeler  expected  it] 
absurd.  There  was  grand  endurance,  and  the  quiet 
taking  the  loss  of  all  things  for  Christ's  sake,  out  of 
which  these  first  churches  sprung.  And,  but  for  this 
history,  no  church  in  Harpoot  could  have  been 
formed;  and  Mr.  Wheeler's  western  brother  was  in- 
timately associated  with  two  churches  that  became 
self-supporting  before  any  church  in  Harpoot. 

But  it  is  true  that,  generally,  the  brethren  in  the 
western  field,  when  the  poor  churches  came  out  of 
great  tribulation  into  freedom,  were  not  so  decided 
for  self-support  as  they  should  have  been.  They 
needed  the  inspiriting,  preaching  and  example  of 
this  apostle  of  self-support;  and  the  whole  mission- 
ary world  has  been  inspired  by  it.  In  this  direction, 
his  life  has  been  of  priceless  value  to  the  mission- 
aries of  the  Church  of  Christ  throughout  the  world. 

But  he  also  received,  as  well  as  gave.  For  his 
principle  of  vernacular  education  and  his  entire  ex- 
clusion of  English,  were  given  up  [sooner  than  he 
had  expected;]  and  gradually,  step  by  step,  as  the 
force  of  things  demanded  it,  the  whole  system  of  the 
western  brother  was  adopted;  not  from  him,  but  from 
the  force  of  circumstances  [which  meanwhile  had 
changed  very  materially*].  And  so  the  East  and 
the  West  met  together.  And  in  view  of  what  had 
been  accomplished,  under  impossible  difficulties,  the 
two  Maine  boys  with  whitened  beards  could  say  to- 
gether;    "We  give  thanks,  O  Lord  God  Almighty, 

♦See  Chapter  Fifteen. 


BIOGRAPHICAL  INTRODUCTION.  ii 

which  art,   and  wast,  and  is  to  come:  because  thou 
hast  taken  to  thee  thy  great  power,  and  hast  reigned!" 

I  have  written  the  above  in  regard  to  Mr.  Wheeler, 
without  any  knowledge  of  the  book,  to  which  it  stands 
as  introduction.f 

Cyrus  Hamlin. 

Lexington,  March,  1899. 


tNor  did  these  two  good  and  great  men,  though  such  true  friends,  ever  fully 
"know"  and  understand  each  other.  But  this  only  makes  their  many  points 
of  agreement  and  sympathy  all  the  more  significant;  for  both  were  mighty 
pioneers,  working  slowly  from  different  points  of  view  toward  the  same  great 
central  truths. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTERS  I    TO  V.— INTRODUCTORY. 

Mr.  Wheeler's  boyhood  and  college  life.  Experiences  as  a  young  teacher. 
Finding  a  wife.  Studying  for  the  ministry.  His  philosophy  of  life.  Pastor- 
ate at  Warren,  Maine.  Reasons  for  not  going  abroad.  The  young  pastor  at 
work.  The  slavery  question.  Pastoral  calls.  Setting  others  to  work.  De- 
cides to  go  to  Turkey.  A  mother's  advice.  Difficulties  in  the  way.  Good- 
bye to  America.    Arrival  in  Turkey. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

DECIDING  WHAT  TO  DO;    AND  HOW  TO 
DO    IT. 

Choosing  a  field.  How  far  to  let  others  choose  for  you.  Proper  regard 
for  health.  Going  to  Harpoot.  Beauties  of  nature.  Blessings  in  disguise. 
Reasons  for  not  preaching  to  Mohammedans.  Helps  in  learning  the  lan- 
guage. Importance  of  touring,  or  itinerating.  The  missionary  as  explorer. 
The  missionary  as  friendly  visitor.  Shall  the  missionary  sell  books?  Teach- 
ing men  how  to  read.  Four  ways  of  preaching.  Benefits  of  persecution. 
Shall  we  punish  evil  doers. 

CHAPTER  VII. 
THE  MISSIONARY'S  CREED. 

Importance  of  having  a  right  creed,  and  using  it  wisely.  The  Bible,  and 
how  to  use  it.  Lessons  from  nature  and  experience.  Depravity.  Man's 
need  of  a  Savior.  Christ  our  friend.  Love  for  one's  neighbor.  Prayer. 
Future  life.    Future  punishment.    Success  and  failure. 


14  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE     MISSIONARY'S      CHARACTER     AND 
THE    LESSONS  IT  TEACHES. 

Clearness  of  perception  and  ways  of  increasing  it.  Definiteness  of  pur- 
pose. Practicalness  and  how  to  keep  it.  Wisdom,  and  how  to  get  it.  Long- 
ing to  do  right.  Courage.  Humility;  normal  and  abnormal.  Self-reliance. 
Perplexity.  Perseverance.  Hopefulness,  and  how  to  renew  it.  A  heart 
full  of  love,  love  that  makes  men  patient.  Finding  the  bright  side,  and 
speaking  of  it.  Forgetting  one's  self.  A  longing  to  save  soiils;  or  a  special 
liking  for  one's  work.  Need  of  business  ability.  Need  of  traveling  secre- 
taries or  superintendents.    Ability  to  lead.     Home  life.    Faults. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE. 

Changing  one's  mind.  Winning  men  by  example.  Importance  of  study- 
ing character  more  closely.  How  to  deal  with  prejudice.  How  to  make  dis- 
cussion profitable.  How  to  distinguish  essentials  from  non-essentials.  Im- 
portance of  preaching  a  positive  gospel.  Not  rules  but  principles.  The  im- 
portance of  reaching  leading  minds;  and  how  to  do  it.  How  much  touring 
shall  we  do?  And  how  large  a  district  shall  we  cover.?  Not  having  enough 
outstations  or  preaching  centers.  How  many  missionaries  should  there  be 
at  each  station?  Too  few  at  some  stations;  too  many  at  others.  Four 
stages  of  missionary  work. 

CHAPTER   X. 

PLANTING  CHURCHES;  AND  TEACHING 
THEM  HOW  TO  WORK. 

Planting  churches.  Conditions  of  church  membership.  Local  and  union 
churches.  Pastorless  churches.  Self-supporting  churches.  Self-governing 
churches.  Large  and  small  churches.  Teaching  churches  how  to  work. 
Native  home  missionary  societies.  Native  foreign  missionary  societies. 
Ecclesiastical  organizations.  Cooperation  of  native  and  foreign  workers- 
formal  and  informal;  its  benefits  and  dangers. 

CHAPTER  XI. 

NATIVE    PASTORS  AND  HELPERS;   AND 
HOW  TO  TRAIN  THEM. 

How  many  native  helpers  shall  we  have?  How  to  get  the  best  men.  What 
to  teach  them.    How  much  to  teach  them.    How  long  to  teach  them.    The 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  15 

student  after  graduation.    The  location  and  number  of  missionary  semina- 
ries, or  theological  schools. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES;  OR  THE 
PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY. 

Bearing  one  another's  burdens.  Bearing  each  his  own  burden.  "But  the 
people  are  too  poor."  "But  can't  they  give  one  day's  work  a  year?"  "And 
can't  they  give  two?"  and  so  on.  Reasons  why  even  the  poorest  should  be 
asked  to  give  something,  in  work  or  money.  How  soon  can  a  self-helping 
church  be  formed?  How  soon  may  such  a  church  be  ordinarily  expected  to 
become  self-supporting.  To  whom  should  mission  grants  be  made?  Should 
the  churches  have  a  common  treasury?  Making  all  grants  conditional?  How 
to  circulate  a  subscription  paper  successfully.  Building  churches,  schools 
and  parsonages;  and  how  to  pay  for  them.  How  to  deal  with  churches  al- 
ready formed  on  a  wrong  financial  basis. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

SELF-SUPPORT  CONTINUED;  A  FEW  MORE 
IMPORTANT  QUESTIONS  ANSWERED. 

Paying  too  high  salaries.  How  to  tell  whether  a  salary  is  too  high.  Why- 
pay  any  salary  at  all?  Relying  too  much  on  unpaid  workers.  When  should 
medical  aid  be  free?  and  when  not?  Why  not  give  books  and  tracts  free? 
Helping  support  students,  male  and  female?  when  wise  and  when  not? 
About  orphanages.    About  helping  the  poor  in  general. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

SELF-SUPPORT   CONCLUDED;   A  STILL 
LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

The  privilege  of  giving.  A  blessing  lost  and  found.  Giving  too  much  and 
not  enough;  and  whereto  draw  the  line.  In  partnership  with  God.— Hard 
times  in  1861;  and  what  came  of  it.  Giving  more  and  more  gladly.  Boarding 
round  and  swapping  labor.  How  soon  shall  new  comers  be  asked  to  give? 
and  why  ?  Retrenchment  and  how  to  face  it.  Being  grateful  for  hard  times. 
How  to  deal  with  unsuccessful  stations.  Annual  meeting  majorities.  How 
to  make  American  donors  more  enthusiastic.  Special  contributions  so-called. 
Statistics  of  self-support  at  Harpoot  since  1861.  A  very  cheering  glance  at 
other  missions  (covering  a  period  of  nine  years).  A  comparison  of  different 
boards.— A  few  last  words:  as  to  misunderstandings  and  abuse;  as  to  the 
need  of  pruning;  as  to  the  need  of  more  definite  comparative  statistics,  cov- 
ering a  period  of  years;  and  as  to  the  need  of  expert  financiers,  with  more  or 
less  veto  power. 


i6  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XV. 

FOUNDING  COLLEGES:  ITS  BENEFITS 
AND  DANGERS. 

Religion  and  education,  how  related.  Importance  of  common  schools. 
How  to  get  the  best  native  teachers.  When  to  stop  stuffing  the  memory.  A 
true  philosophy  of  education.  When  to  found  a  college.  Should  it  have  an 
endowment?  and  why.?  Pressing  self-support.  Why  not  make  the  schools 
all  free?  Ways  of  developing  character.  Bible  classes;  and  how  to  make 
them  interesting.  Helping  pupils  one  by  one.  How  to  prevent  rationalism. 
College  discipline  and  choice  of  trustees.  Lessons  in  energy  and  accuracy. 
Experiments  in  industrial  education.  Lessons  in  thinking.  A  new  way  of 
awarding  prizes.  Proper  limits  of  industrial  education.  The  children's 
corner.  The  teaching  of  English.  The  American  fever.  Going  to  Europe 
or  America  for  an  education.  Raising  up  ministers.  Training  Christian 
laymen.  Educating  the  public.  Mr.  Wheeler  as  an  educator.  A  look  into 
the  future. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
A  GLANCE  AT  FEMALE  EDUCATION. 

General  Remarks.  Learning  to  pray.  Learning  to  read.  Training 
preachers'  wives.  Training  mothers.  Training  teachers.  Opening  the 
doors  still  wider.  Becoming  a  college.  Religious  influences.  Kindergarten 
work  in  Turkey  and  Japan.  An  important  word  as  to  money  matters. 
House  to  house  visitation. 

CHAPTERS  XVII    AND  XVIII. 
GROWING  OLD;  AND  GOING  HOME. 

The  blessings  of  old  age.  The  lessons  of  old  age.  The  massacres  of  1895. 
Final  return  to  America.  Meaning  of  these  massacres.  Across  the  ocean. 
Last  days  in  America.    The  lesson  of  this  life. 

APPENDIX. 

Memorial  address  by  Rev.  James  L.  Barton.— Memorial  services  held  in 
Harpoot.  A  tribute  from  the  Warren  church,  forty  years  after  Mr.  Wheeler 
left  it. 

ALSO  A  VERY  FULL  INDEX. 


CHAPTER  I. 

MR.    WHEELER'S    BOYHOOD   AND   COL- 
LEGE  LIFE. 


[As  will  be  seen  by  an  examination  of  the  Table  of  Contents,  the  first  five 
chapters  of  this  book  and  the  last  two  (or  about  one-eighth  of  the  whole)  are 
simply  biographical;  while  chapters  six  to  sixteen  (or  seven-eighths  of  the 
whole)  are  devoted  almost  exclusively  to  a  study  of  Dr.  Wheeler's  Ways  of 
Doing  Missionary  Work,  which  is  of  course  the  more  important  part  of  the 
book.— We  hope  then  that  most  of  our  readers  will  turn  at  once  to  Chapter 
Six  and  read  the  story  of  Dr.  Wheeler's  manhood  before  they  do  that  of  his 
boyhood  and  youth;  leaving  the  earlier  chapters  for  that  narrower  circle  of 
personal  friends  to  whom  even  a  man's  boyhood  is  full  of  interest  and  signifi- 
cance; because  they  have  already  known  and  seen  and  loved  the  man  himself 
personally  and  intimately.] 

Crosby  Wheeler,  aftervvard.s  named  Crosby  How- 
ard Wheeler,  by  one  of  his  college  classmates,  was 
born  in  the  little  town  of  Hampden,  Maine,  Septem- 
ber 8,  1823,  on  the  banks  of  the  beautiful  Penobscot; 
his  grandfather  Wheeler  having  been  a  general  in 
the  Revolutionary  army,  and  one  of  the  earliest  set- 
tlers of  the  town  where  Crosby  was  born. 

His  father,  Joel  Wheeler,  was  a  man  of  shrewdness 
and  ability,  both  in  business  and  in  the  reading  of 
character;  and  his  boy  inherited  many  of  his  best 
traits,  and  was  always  proud  of  them;  and  yet  it  was 
his  mother  who  left  the  deepest  impression  on  his 
character  and  life;  for  she  was  an  earnest,  far-seeing 
Christian;  but  the  father  was  not.  With  this  dear 
mother  he  went    willingly    to    prayer-meeting    and 

(17—2) 


i8  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

monthly  concert,  even  though  the  boys  on  the  street 
jeered  at  him,  saying,  "You  are  tied  to  your  mother's 
apron  strings."  For  fortunately  that  mother  had  so 
mingled  gentleness,  fairness  and  authority,  that  her 
boy  really  thought  that  she  knew  best.  And  wher- 
ever Crosby  went,  his  mother's  influence  went  with 
him;  and  mother  always  knew  just  where  her  boy 
was  going,  for  he  never  went  without  her  approval. 

And  so,  it  came  to  pass  that  though  the  boy's  fa- 
ther kept  the  village  tavern,  and  often  left  the  boy 
in  charge,  he  never  knew  the  different  kinds  of  liq- 
uor except  by  their  looks  and  smell  and  the  names 
on  the  bottles;  and  a  time  came  when,  though  still 
a  boy,  he  flatly  refused  to  sell  another  drop;  for  he 
felt  that  prayer  and  liquor  selling  could  no  longer 
go  hand  in  hand.  And  his  father  was  kind  and 
shrewd  enough  not  to  try  to  force  the  issue;  though 
it  meant  a  serious  loss  in  his  business  as  hotel  keeper. 

It  was  in  boyhood  too,  that  Mr.  Wheeler's  con- 
scious Christian  life  began,  the  circumstances  being 
somewhat  as  follows: — Crosby  had  been  very  sick, 
so  sick  that  the  papers  of  a  neighboring  town  re- 
ported him  as  dead.  But  instead  of  being  dead,  he 
was  busily  preparing  for  life.  Yet  it  seemed  to  him 
that  he  was  alone  in  the  world;  and  he  could  not 
realize  that  God  is  love.  Then  it  was  that  he  re- 
membered his  mother's  teachings  and  experience, 
and  sought  the  Saviour  who  had  so  often  helped  her; 
and  Jesus  did  indeed  open  his  eyes  and  show  him  the 
Father;  and  from  that  time  on,  even  to  his  dying 
day,  his  love  for  God  and  man  grew  steadily  stronger 
and  more  tender,  even  though  he  was  forced  at  times, 


MR.  WHEELER'S  EARLY  LIFE.  19 

like  David  of  old,  to  be  a  man  of  war,  and  like  Jesus 
himself,  to  rebuke  severely  some  of  those  whom  he 
loved  best. 

Il  was  at  this  time  that  he  formed  the  acquaintance 
of  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Tappan,  D.  D.,  and  learned  in 
Dr.  Tappan's  study  and  prayer  meeting,  and  from 
his  daily  life,  some  of  the  sweet  truths  which  he  was 
later  on  to  take  to  foreign  lands;  for  the  pastor  loved 
the  boy,  and  understood  him;  and,  even  when  he  hid 
behind  the  post  in  prayer  meetings,  would  often  find 
him  out,  and  give  him  somethmg  to  do  for  the  Saviour 
he  was  learning  to  love  so  greatly.  And  so,  through 
a  long  and  eventful  life,  Crosby  and  Crosby's  chil- 
dren learned  to  look  up  to  Dr.  Tappan  as  a  little 
better  than  most  men,  and  as  a  sort  of  father  and 
pastor,  wherever  they  might  go. 

That  this  boy  of  whom  we  are  writing  was  also  a 
student,  our  readers  will  easily  guess;  and  no  one 
will  be  surprised  to  know  that  as  a  small  boy  he 
chose  a  picture  book  in  preference  to  a  pair  of  shoes, 
though  his  fun-loving  father  afterwards  gave  him 
both;  nor  will  they  wonder  that  he  often  studied  by 
the  light  of  an  open  pine-knot  fire,  when  he  could 
not  afford  to  buy  a  tallow  candle.  For  Crosby  loved 
study;  and  promotions  came  to  him  in  quick  suc- 
cession; since  he  not  only  learned  his  own  lessons, 
but  also  listened  closely  to  much  of  what  was  said 
in  higher  classes,  especially  in  mathematics,  which 
he  dearly  loved. 

And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  the  tall,  pale-faced 
boy  was   ere  long  chosen  assistant  teacher  in   the 


20  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

school  where  he  was  himself  a  pupil;  and  with  the 
help  of  his  pastor,  Dr.  Tappan,  was  able  to  help  sup- 
port the  family  and  still  enter  the  Freshman  class  of 
Bowdoin  College  in  1843. 

Here  he  soon  came  to  be  known  as  an  earnest, 
active  Christian,  a  friend  and  adviser  of  those  who 
were  in  trouble,  and  a  successful  opponent  of  hazing 
and  all  sorts  of  college  meanness  and  ungentleman- 
liness;  and  even  consented  once  to  take  a  leading 
part  in  resisting  the  powers  that  be,  when  he  felt 
that  they  had  greatly  v^^onged  the  students  in  some 
disputed  point. 

For  such  resistance  some  of  his  teachers  never  for- 
gave him,  believing  in  the  divine  right  of  teachers 
and  parents  to  be  obeyed,  whether  right  or  wrong. 
But  others,  more  manly,  admitted  the  students'  right 
to  protest,  and  were  more  careful  next  time  there 
was  friction  to  talk  the  matter  over  frankly  with  the 
students,  instead  of  trying  to  straighten  it  all  out 
by  a  mere  blind  use,  or  rather  misuse,  of  mere  au- 
thority. 

Yet  while  such  dramatic  incidents  as  these  are  the 
ones  that  in  after  years  stand  out  most  strikingly, 
the  most  significant  part  of  college  life  is  deeper  and 
quieter.  For  it  was  at  the  saw-horse  and  the  saw- 
mill; in  the  class-room  and  at  the  boarding  club  table, 
and  above  all  in  the  silence  of  his  own  room  that 
this  young  man  was  learning  to  commune  with  God 
and  with  his  fellow  men.  For  no  true  man  is  ever 
really  alone;  but,  wherever  he  may  be,  is  learning 
or  else  imparting  something  that  will  help  to  make 
life  richer  and  better. 


MR.  WHEELER'S  EARLY  LIFE.  21 

And  so  it  happened  that  in  college  and  in  vacation 
school,  in  spending  money  and  in  earning  money,  in 
learning  and  in  teaching,  alike,  the  work  of  growth 
went  on;  and  even  "half-mast  pants"  and  dead  lan- 
guages were  among  the  forces  that  helped  to  shape 
him  for  his  future  life.  For  to  him  all  learning  and 
all  experiences  were  only  a  means  to  an  end;  that 
end  being  to  make  life  better;  or  as  he  loved  to  state 
it,  in  the  words  of  the  catechism,  "To  glorify  God 
and  enjoy  Him  forever." 


CHAPTER  II. 

EXPERIENCES   AS  A  YOUNG    TEACHER. 


During  the  last  term  of  his  senior  year,  though  still 
continuing  hiscollege  work,  Mr.  Wheeler  took  charge 
of  a  large  fitting  school  at  Litchfield,  Maine,  attended 
by  pupils  of  all  ages  from  twelve  to  twenty-five. 
Here  he  was  so  successful  in  arousing  enthusiasm, 
that  one  of  the  classes  which  he  fitted  for  college, 
came  back  and  spent  their  Freshman  year  at  the 
Institute;  though  this  compelled  their  labor-loving 
teacher  to  have  classes  from  six  in  the  morning  till 
nine  at  night.  Surely  such  overwork  was  not  wise; 
and  yet  enthusiasm,  even  at  high  cost,  is  better  than 
that  littleness  of  soul  into  which  many  a  man  has 
fallen  in  his  eagerness  to  "take  good  care  of  his 
physical  health."  And  though  we  are  glad  that  in 
later  years  Mr.  Wheeler  learned  to  take  better  care 
of  his  health,  we  cannot  but  be  proud  of  the  man 
who  could  arouse  such  enthusiasm  as  this. 

Speaking  of  this  period  in  his  life  a  pupil  writes: 

His  scholars  both  loved  and  feared  him;  for  he  took  much 
interest  in  their  welfare,  but  was  also  very  strict:  and  would 
not  tolerate  laziness  or  carelessness,  feeling  that  it  was  better 
for  a  pupil  to  leave  school,  if  need  be,  rather  than  go  on  pois- 
oning his  own  life  and  the  whole  school  by  deliberate  and  per- 


MR.  WHEELER'S  EARLY  LIFE.  23 

sistent  carelessness.  I  well  remember  how  he  once  made  our 
class  in  Latin  Grammar  sit  in  their  seats  all  through  recess, 
because  of  a  poorly  learned  lesson; — and  these  were  not  mere 
boys  and  girls,  but  young  men-and  women,  most  of  them  from 
eighteen  to  twenty-five  years  of  age.  Yet  most  of  his  pupils 
felt  that  he  rebuked  them  for  their  good,  and  soon  caught  his 
enthusiasm,  and  entered  heartily  into  his  plans  for  the  improve- 
ment of  the  school. 

One  case  in  particular  I  well  remember;  that  of  a  boy  who 
was  so  lazy  he  would  not  study,  and  so  hot  tempered  as  to  be 
ax:ontinual  source  of  trouble  in  the  school.  Finally,  all  other 
means  failing,  the  teacher  took  him  to  a  neighboring  barn  and 
whipped  him  soundly;  the  result  being  that  the  boy  became 
one  of  the  most  industrious,  cheery  and  kindly  pupils  in  the 
whole  school! 

Another  pupil  was  the  mate  of  a  ship,  who  wished 
to  spend  a  few  months  in  study,  and  among  other 
things  to  take  up  navigation,  of  which  he  already 
knew  the  routine  rules  but  not  the  theory.  The 
busy  teacher  had  never  studied  navigation;  but  in- 
stead of  saying  so,  and  excusing  himself,  he  simply 
bought  a  book  and  kept  ahead  of  his  pupil;  though 
on  one  occasion  it  took  him  all  night  to  work  out  a 
problem  which  happened  to  be  exceptionally  diffi- 
cult. Thus  was  he  slowly  fitting  for  a  life  in  which 
there  would  be  many  hard  and  perplexing  problems 
to  be  solved.  For  goodness  alone  never  made  a  suc- 
cessful missionary,  and  never  will;  "sanctified  com- 
mon-sense,"* pluck  and  originality  being  just  as  ne- 
cessary for  a  good  missionary,  as  for  a  good  leader 
and  organizer  in  any  other  kind  of  work. 

But  great  reformers  and  teachers  need  homes  and 
helpmeets,  even  if  Bacon  is  foolish  enough  to  deny 

*A  favorita  saying  of  Dr.  Wheeler's. 


24  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

it;*  and  so  it  is  pleasant  to  know  that  here  in  Litch- 
field Mr.  Wheeler  first  met  the  one  who,  through  a 
long  and  happy  life,  made,  home  for  him,  a  home  in 
which  he  could  rest  and  grow  strong,  when  the  bur- 
dens of  public  life  threatened  to  be  too  heavy,  or  were 
in  danger  of  making  his  life  too  one-sided.  For  the 
strongest  men  are  the  ones  who  most  need  homes; 
and  a  true  home  life  only  deepens  a  man's  love  for 
the  world  outside. 

But  who  wasitthatso bewitched  theyoung  teacher? 
It  was  a  silent,  thoughtful  girl,  timid,  but  plucky, 
who  sat  with  others  on  that  Latin  bench,  of  which  we 
have  spoken,  and  it  was  the  way  in  which  she  once 
apologized  in  a  Spanish  class  for  being  unprepared 
that  first  made  the  young  teacher  think  her  different 
from  other  girls,  and  better  suited  to  help  him  in  the 
larger  life-work  on  which  he  was  even  then  slowly 
entering.  And  for  nearly  fifty  years  from  that  day 
on,  my  father  found  in  Susan  Anna  Brookings,  and 
Susan  Anna  Wheeler,  a  source  of  strength  and  inspi- 
ration, which  years  of  Christian  growth  and  service, 
side  by  side,  only  made  tenderer  and  deeper.  For 
they  learned  more  and  more  to  agree,  even  in  the 
things  where  they  had  lovingly  "agreed  to  dis- 
agree." 

And  though  they  were  not  perfect,  either  of  them, 
they  were  "going  on  toward  perfection;"  and  a  grow- 
ing home  is  always  a  lovely  home.  For  both  were 
ever  eager  to  be  true,  and  both  had  learned  to  pray; 
and  so  their  home  became  a  "house  of  prayer";  and 

*In  his  essay  on  Marriage. 


MR.  WHEELER'S  EARLY  LIFE.  25 

this  it  was  that  made  and  kept  it  pure  and  helpful; 
for  even  love  is  weak  without  God's  help.* 

*It  is  pleasant  to  remember  that  it  was  this  p:ood  wife's  zeal  for  missions 
that  years  after,  aided  by  her  brother,  Hon.  W.  W.  Brookings,  opened  the 
way  for  Joseph  Ward  to  come  to  Yankton;  and  so  led  on  to  the  founding  of 
Yankton  College,  in  South  Dakota;  while  she  herself  took  part  in  founding 
another  college  eight  thousand  miles  away  in  Turkey.— Surely  a  pleasant 
link  between  the  work  of  home  and  foreign  missions  which  time  is  slowly 
bringing  into  such  close  and  many-sided  bonds  of  likeness  and  of  love. 


CHAPTER  III. 

STUDYING  FOR  THE  MINISTRY. 


After  spending  a  little  more  than  two  years  at 
Litchfield,  Mr.  Wheeler  entered  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Bangor,  Maine,  in  the  fall  of  1849.  ^^^ 
as  we  have  already  seen,  he  had  been  working  too 
hard;  and  for  a  while  his  seminary  course  was  dark- 
ened by  a  fear  that  he  had  entered  God's  ministry 
uncalled.  But  good  old  Dr.  Pond,  professor  of 
theology,  advised  him  to  be  a  little  more  careful  of 
his  health,  and  spend  more  time  iti  resting;  telling 
him  the  story  of  a  man  who  found  in  the  potato  field 
the  hope  which  he  had  lost  in  his  study. — And  rest 
did  once  more  bring  back  the  Christian  hopefulness 
which  too  much  study  had  dimmed;  though  all 
through  his  life  he  was  at  times  tempted  to  over- 
work, and  overwork  sooner  or  later  always  brought 
on  depression.  But  even  to  the  last,  humble,  hon- 
est rest  would  again  restore  the  balance,  though  it 
could  not  always  repair  the  wasted  nerves;  for  even 
when  God  overrules  our  folly  for  good  he  does  not 
wholly  remove  the  pain  till  its  mission  of  helpfulness 
is  accomplished. 

At  about  this  time  the  lady  who  had  charge  of  the 
Students'  Home  connected  with  the  Seminary,  was 

26 


MR.  WHEELER'S  EARLY  LIFE.  27 

obliged  to  leave,  and  Mr.  Wheeler's  mother  was 
asked  to  come  from  Hampden  and  take  the  place. 
This  gave  him  a  chance  to  spend  three  more  years 
at  home  with  the  mother  whom  he  so  much  loved, 
and  who  had  done  so  much  for  him  in  years  gone  by. 
For  it  was  beautiful  to  see  the  love  between  these 
two,  so  tender  and  thoughtful,  both  at  home  and 
when  they  went  abroad.  And  not  only  did  Mother 
care  for  his  health  and  clothes  and  make  him  rest 
and  "be  good;"  but  even  his  sermons  were  often 
read  aloud  to  her  for  criticism  and  approval. 

HIS  PHILOSOPHY  OF  LIFE. 

For  right  here  comes  in  a  peculiarity  of  the  man; 
it  was  not  abstract  doctrines  which  he  talked  over 
with  his  mother  and  wife,  it  was  sermons  and  pas- 
toral problems; — What  shall  I  do?  and  What  shall  I 
say?  and  not  What  shall  I  believe?  or  How  shall  I 
prove  it?  Forhe  feltthat  the  more  important  truths 
of  life  were  very  simple  (more  simple  in  fact  than 
they  really  are)  and  the  only  perplexing  question  in 
his  mind  was  how  to  get  men  to  apply  them. 

But  while  he  thought  too  lightly  of  any  attempt 
to  look  more  fully  into  the  philosophy  of  life  and 
truth, — feeling  that  the  speculative  method  was 
worthless,  and  the  inductive  method  too  vast  and 
dangerous  to  deserve  his  praise, — it  still  is  true  that 
right  at  this  very  point  lay  one  of  the  strongest  traits 
of  his  whole  life;  for,  in  his  passionate  eagerness  to 
help  in  Applying  Truth  To  Daily  Life,  he  be- 
came,— in  spite  of  his  fear  of  philosophy, — one  of 
the  founders,  or  rather  great  developers,  of  a  new 


28  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

and  better  philosophy  of  missions.  And  at  the  very 
time  when  he  was  solemnly  warning  others  against 
the  dangers  of  philosophizing,  and  calling  it  useless 
and  unpractical,  he  was  setting  them  an  example  of 
true  and  really  practical  philosophizing  which  is  des- 
tined to  leave  its  mark,  not  only  on  foreign  missions, 
but  on  the  schools  and  churches  of  his  native  land 
as  well. 

For  the  world  is  changing,  for  better  and  for  worse; 
and  the  tests  which  he  applied  in  sifting  things,  both 
old  and  new,  will,  in  slightly  altered  forms,  throw 
much  new  light  on  some  of  the  more  perplexing 
problems  of  our  own  church  life,  and  of  that  larger 
social  and  educational  life  of  which  the  church  is 
but  a  part,  though  an  important  one. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

PASTORATE    AT  WARREN,   MAINE. 


Thus  three  more  years  passed  by;  and  in  1852,  at 
the  age  of  twenty-nine,  we  find  him  ready  for  a  new 
form  of  ministry,  namely  that  of  preaching  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ  to  lost  and  lonely  men.  Yet  even  here 
two  roads  divide;  for  some  devote  themselves  chiefly 
to  sacred  oratory  and  some  chiefly  to  pastoral  work; 
very  few  clergymen  ever  really  excelling  in  both. 
For  a  really  first-class  pastor  is  seldom  a  very  ora 
torical  speaker;  though  he  may  be  an  earnest  and 
helpful  talker. 

Of  these  two  paths  our  readers  can  easily  guess 
which  one  it  was  that  Crosby  Wheeler  chose; — it  was 
that  of  simple  pastoral  work,  his  conception  of  pas- 
toral work  being,  not  simply  pleasant  social  calls,  but 
definite  attempts  in  public  and  private  to  rouse  his 
people  to  more  earnest  and  more  definite  work  for 
Christ,  as  individuals  and  as  a  church.* 

♦But  he  worked  very  quietly;  and  "slow  and  sure"  was  his  motto  in  getting 
started,  though  not  in  execution.  Hence  it  is  a  curiously  interesting  fact 
that  to  some  who  knew  him  in  these  early  years  only  as  a  faithful  and  quiet 
but  energetic  worker,  his  wide  grasp  of  truth  and  evident  power  over  men 
later  on  in  life  was  a  great  surprise.  For  though  brilliancy  generally  ma- 
tures early;  history  shows  that  genuine  insight,  in  its  larger  and  deeper  forms 
is  for  the  most  part  a  plant  of  much  slower  growth,  and  seldom  matures  till 

later  on  in  life. 

29 


30  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

With  this  aim  in  view  he  accepted  a  call  to  the 
pastorate  of  the  Second  Congregational  church  of 
Warren,  Maine,  the  First  Church  having  gone  over 
to  Unitarianism  a  good  many  years  before;  and  here 
he  remained  till  the  time  of  his  departure  for  Turkey 
in  1857.  And  near  here,  at  Woolwich,  Maine, — on 
the  27th  of  December,  1852 — he  was  united  in  mar- 
riage to  Susan  Anna  Brookings,  of  whom  we  have 
already  spoken,  and  who  for  forty-four  years  stood 
by  his  side  as  a  helpmeet  indeed  and  a  true  fellow- 
worker  in  God's  vineyard. 

Then  two  days  later  came  the  ordination  services, 
in  which  the  young  pastor  claimed  that  his  wife  had 
a  part,  as  truly  as  he;  for  he  believed  that  they  were 
really  joint  pastors  of  God's  flock,  though  his  part 
of  the  work  might  be  a  little  more  public  than  hers. 
And  thus  began  a  pastorate  which  was  to  further  fit 
them  for  a  still  wider  field  abroad. 

REASONS  FOR  NOT  GOING  ABROAD. 

Even  then  they  loved  the  foreign  field,  but  they 
did  not  feel  that  it  would  be  right  for  them  to  think 
of  entering  it;  though  later  on  God's  providence 
called  them  to  the  very  work  for  which  they  were  not 
fitted  then. 

And  oh  how  often  would  it  be  better  for  us,  if  we 
were  thus  willing  to  wait  God's  time;  for  there  is 
little  doubt  but  what  their  whole  future  usefulness 
would  have  been  lessened  had  they  gone  abroad  too 
soon.  For  though  we  would  by  no  means  assert 
that  no  one  should  go  abroad  till  they  have  had  ex- 
perience in  a  home  pastorate,  we  certainly  can  affirm 


PASTORATE  AT  WARREN.  31 

that  no  one,  not  even  the  most  consecrated,  should 
go  till  God's  Spirit  very  plainly  whispers  "Go"  and 
"Go  now." 

THE  YOUNG    PASTOR  AT  WORK. 

But  to  come  back  to  Warren,  where  the  young  pas- 
tor and  his  wife  were  to  spend  the  next  four  years, 
we  find  ourselves  in  a  prosperous  New  England  town 
of  about  two  thousand  inhabitants,  among  whom  were 
a  goodly  number  of  ship  owners,  land  owners,  law- 
yers,  doctors,  retired  merchants  and  well  to  do  farm- 
ers; but  not  as  many  poor  people  as  there  are  in 
most  towns.  So  that  the  atmosphere  of  the  town, 
though  exceptionally  thoughtful,  was  also  more  con- 
servative than  most  towns,  and  sermons  that  would 
draw  out  from  one  good  brother  a  hearty  "God  bless 
you"  and  a  warm  shake  of  the  hand,  would  make 
another  brother  come  forward  with  just  as  emphatic 
and  plain-spoken  a  rebuke;  and, — as  often  happens 
in  this  strange  world  of  ours — those  who  had  thought 
the  matter  out  most  carelessly,  or  else  been  most  influ- 
enced by  mere  unconscious  prejudice,  were  often  the 
most  severe  and  persistent  in  their  condemnation. 

But  the  young  pastor  could  bear  even  undeserved 
rebuke  patiently,  so  long  as  it  did  not  take  the  form 
of  positive  interference  with  what  he  felt  to  be  his 
duty;  and  in  the  lives  of  even  his  most  short-sighted 
critics  he  could  generally  see  some  traits  that  were 
true  and  lovely,  and  in  his  own  teachings  and  doings 
they  too  could  see  so  much  of  truth  and  sincerity 
that  the  pastor's  influence  steadily  increased; — so 
that  foreign  missions  and  anti-slavery,  Christian  giv- 


32  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

ing  and  Christian  voting,  home  missions  for  those 
who  never  come  to  church,  and  more  church  work 
for  those  who  do, — were  among  the  causes  that  in 
those  four  years  gained  ground  and  prospered  in 
that  quiet  pastorate;  though  the  pastor  and  his  wife 
worked  very  quietly  and  were  seldom  heard  de- 
nouncing the  evils  of  their  times. 

For  among  reformers  of  equal  ability  and  earnest- 
ness, the  least  pugnacious  ones  are  generally  the 
ones  who  really  do  most  good;  even  though  some 
good  men  may  teach  the  contrary:  and  even  in  Mr. 
Wheeler's  later  life  it  was,  for  the  most  part,  the 
terrible  plainness  of  his  rebukes,  rather  than  their 
needless  frequency  or  persistency,  that  made  him 
such  a  terror  to  evil  doers,  and  to  good  men  when 
they  too  got  to  thinking  themselves  or  their  church 
or  their  methods  infallible,  and  so  were  unwilling  to 
listen  in  a  truth-loving  spirit  to  friendly  criticism. 

Then  if  the  rebuke  seemed  to  have  done  no  good 
he  would  leave  them  to  repent  in  solitude;  while  for 
the  penitent  ones  there  would  break  forth  a  flood  of 
tenderness,  and  a  host  of  inspiring  hints  and  helps 
which  made  growth  easier,  and  proved  that  even  the 
occasional  rebuke  had  come  from  a  heart  that  was 
full  of  love. 

THE  SLAVERY  QUESTION. 

But  one  of  the  instances  in  those  early  years  in 
which  he  did  speak  out  plainly  and  forcibly,  though 
not  very  often,  is  of  such  great  interest  that  we  can- 
not refrain  from  mentioning  it  here, — namely,  the 
slavery  question. —  For  strange  to  say  this  was  still 


PASTORATE  AT  WARREN.  33 

one  of  the  unsettled  issues  of  the  day, — the  Fugitive 
Slave  Law,  in  its  new  and  more  stringent  form,  hav- 
ing just  given  to  the  debate  an  added  bitterness  in 
little  minds  and  an  added  earnestness  and  urgency 
in  great  ones.  And  many  good  men,  both  in  and 
out  of  congress,  were  on  the  wrong  side  of  the  ques- 
tion; some  from  cowardice,  some  from  timidity, 
some  from  short-sightedness  and  some  from  selfish- 
ness. 

For  a  lurking  selfishness  sometimes  finds  room 
even  in  the  hearts  of  men  whose  better  life  justifies 
us  in  calling  them  good,  though  strangely  blind  and 
inconsistent.  And  so  men  were  perplexed  and 
tempted;  and  many  good  men  allowed  themselves 
to  vote  and  talk  on  the  pro-slavery  side  of  the  ques- 
tion, attributing  to  poor  health  and  indigestion  and 
the  devil  the  prickings  of  conscience  and  the  lead- 
ings of  God,  from  which  they  could  not  escape.  For 
conscience  never  argues  with  a  man,  and  can  be  eas- 
ily ignored;  though  it  can  never  be  silenced. 

And  so  the  battle  of  principles  went  on;  and  even 
in  Warren,  Maine,  way  down  in  Puritan  New  Eng- 
land, pro-slavery  sentiments  were  exceedingly  strong. 

But  could  the  young  pastor  do  any  thing?  Was 
it  his  duty  to  take  sides?  Yes,  so  soon  as  he  saw 
clearly  which  way  was  right;  but  no  sooner.  For  the 
pulpit  which  refuses  to  touch  political  issues,  in  which 
there  is  a  clearly  recognizable  right  and  wrong,  does 
by  so  doing,  simply  doom  itself  to  degradation  and 
powerlessness. 

And  so  it  came  about  that  on  a  certain  fast  day 
(in  1853  I  believe  it  was)  the  young  pastor  stood  up 

(3) 


34  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

in  his  pulpit,  and,  using  the  words  of  Isaiah,  told  his 
people  that  they  ought  to  "loose  the  bands  of  wick- 
edness, undo  the  heavy  burdens  and  let  the  op- 
pressed go  free";  though  freely  admitting  that  the 
problem  could  not  be  worked  out  quite  as  easily  as 
some  extreme  abolitionists  would  claim.  For  he 
believed  that  even  in  fighting  slavery,  firmness 
should  not  be  mingled  with  bitterness  and  haste. 

The  pastor  realized  that  this  sermon  might  cost 
him  his  pulpit,  and  told  his  wife  so  before  he  deliv- 
ered it;  and  great  indeed  was  the  tempest  of  mingled 
joy  and  wrath  that  it  stirred.  But  many  pro-slav- 
ery men  were  in  their  hearts  anti-slavery;  and  even 
the  real  friends  of  slavery  had  to  admit  that  their 
pastor  was  not  a  blind  abolitionist,  even  though  he 
was  an  abolitionist;  and  so  in  Warren,  as  in  thou- 
sands of  other  towns  in  this  great  land,  the  cause  of 
right  gained  ground  more  and  more  rapidly — though 
cowardly  concessions  in  congress,  and  the  unneces- 
sary bitterness  of  many  anti-slavery  workers  outside 
made  inevitable  that  final  bloody  conflict  which 
wiser  leadership  in  congress  and  out  of  congress 
might,  and  probably  would  have  prevented. 

PASTORAL  CALLS. 

But  though  the  pastor  could  thus  plead  and  rebuke 
in  public,  this  quiet  little  pastorate,  was  more  espe- 
cially notable  for  many  quieter  experiences,  which 
equally  revealed  the  man  and  his  conception  of  pas- 
toral work.  For  even  on  wash-day  he  would  rise 
early  and  help  his  own  wife  with  the  wash,  and  then 
hurry  out  to  catch  others  at  their  back  doors  and  in 


PASTORATE  AT  WARREN.  35 

their  workday  clothes,  that  he  might  talk  over  the 
problems  of  life  more  freely,  and  might  get  more 
light  on  some  problems  of  self-improvement  and 
town-improvement  which  it  is  hard  to  discuss  profit- 
ably in  a  parlor,  or  with  fine  clothes  on. 

Then  too  he  often  took  his  wife  with  him  when  he 
went  out  calling  and  often  talked  religion,  —  not 
because  he  was  a  pastor  and  thought  he  ought  to  do 
it, — but  because  he  was  so  enthusiastic  over  it  that 
he  could  not  help  doing  it.  And  you  will  always 
find  that  many  who  ordinarily  steer  clear  of  relig- 
ious conversation,  like  to  hear  such  a  man  talk  of  his 
favorite  theme;  for  his  religion  is  apt  to  be  simple 
and  cheering,  while  that  of  other  good  men  only 
irritates  and  perplexes  them. 

But  though  religion  was  sure  to  get  in  somehow, 
warm  and  bright,  it  was  often  "Elder  Wheeler's" 
pleasant  face  and  quick  retorts  in  other  lines  that 
made  him  welcome,  even  where  his  ministerial  hat 
and  coat  would  have  almost  shut  the  door  in  his  face; 
and  some  people  who  thought  ministers  great  loaf- 
ers, and  ministerial  work  very  easy,  concluded  that 
even  ministers  sometimes  work  hard,  and  do  work 
just  as  well  worth  doing  as  that  of  doctors,  lawyers 
and  farmers. 

And  how  good  it  is  to  know  that  all  over  this  broad 
land  there  are  such  house  to  house  workers  for  God, 
even  though  some  of  them  are  not  as  successful  and 
wise  as  they  might  be.  For  pastoral  work  is  not  as 
easy  as  it  seems;  and  a  mere  vague,  general  wish  to 
do  good  will  never  make  a  successful  pastor;  neither 
will  mere  brains  and  learning;    for  to  the  warm  and 


36  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

tender  heart  and  well  stored  memory,  there  must  be 
added  a  long  and  careful  and  sympathetic  study  of  hu- 
man nature,  as  seen  in  close  and  lovmg  contact  with 
men,  women  and  children, — and  this  some  so-called 
ministers  sadly  lack. 

SETTING  OTHERS  TO  WORK. 

But  the  most  successful  pastors  are  not  simply  pas- 
tors, advising  and  uplifting  individuals  by  their  own 
personal  efforts;  they  are  also  leaders  and  organizers; 
who  know  how  to  set  other  men  to  work,  simply  in- 
spiring and  superintending  them,  and  thus  accom- 
plish vastly  more  work  than  they  themselves  could 
ever  do  alone,  without  this  host  of  underleaders  and 
fellow  workers. 

Such  also  is  the  ideal  missionary  —  and  even  the 
un-ideal  missionary,  if  he  has  a  clear  conception  of 
the  way  in  which  the  most  good  can  be  accomplished; 
and  it  is  interesting  to  see  how  in  this  home  pastor- 
ate the  instincts  of  leadership,  which  so  strongly 
marked  Mr.  Wheeler's  later  life,  were  beginning  to 
show  themselves.  To  illustrate  this,  one  instance 
will  suffice. 

The  Bible  Society  had  sent  one  of  its  agents  to 
canvass  the  town.  But,  No,  said  Mr.  Wheeler,  we 
who  know  the  town  can  do  this  work  better  than  you 
can,  and  can  find  a  blessing  in  doing  it.  And  so  the 
matter  was  laid  before  the  two  evangelical  churches 
of  the  place.  Baptist  and  Congregational;  and  right 
in  one  of  the  busiest  seasons  of  the  year  enough 
horses  and  buggies  and  canvassers  were  found  to 
make  a  canvass  of  the  whole  town,  and  of  all  the  re- 


PASTORATE  AT  WARREN.  37 

gion  round,  —  the  two  pastors  superintending  the 
work  and  also  going  out  together,  in  the  same  car- 
riage, to  take  a  hand  in  the  canvass  and  make  pas- 
toral calls.  Thus  was  the  young  pastor  fitting  for 
a  still  wider  Bible  distribution,  and  for  the  longer 
and  more  romantic  and  dangerous  tours,  to  which  he 
was  to  devote  so  large  a  part  of  his  time  and  strength 
for  the  next  twenty  years  of  his  life. 


CHAPTER  V. 

DEPARTURE  FOR  TURKEY. 


But  even  in  the  humblest  and  most  self-distrust- 
ing men  success  in  one  kind  of  work  often  reveals  a 
fitness  for  some  more  difficult  task,  to  which  the 
voice  of  duty  soon  after  calls  them;  and  thus  was  it 
that  Mr.  Wheeler  now  felt  that  he  ought  probably  to 
enter  the  foreign  mission  field. 

He  had  long  loved  the  foreign  work,  had  long 
read  of  it  and  prayed  for  it,  and  when  in  college  and 
in  the  seminary  had  longed  to  go  in  person;  but  the 
way  had  not  been  open  and  the  clear  and  final  call, 
"Go  Now"  had  not  yet  come.  And  though  he  did 
not  now  feel  any  better  fitted  for  missionary  work 
than  he  had  felt  before,  for  he  was  by  nature  self- 
distrusting, —  at  times  morbidly  so, — yet  there  had 
grown  up  in  his  soul  a  more  and  more  definite  idea 
of  the  importance  of  foreign  missionary  work,  and 
of  what  it  was  to  be  a  foreign  missionary;  and  he  be- 
gan to  feel  that  perhaps  he  ought  to  give  his  life  to 
that  great  but  difficult  work,  knowing  that  many, 
who  could  not  or  would  not  go  abroad,  would  gladly 
take  up  the  work  at  home,  which  he  expected   to 

lay  down. 

38 


DEPARTURE  FOR  TURKEY.  39 

But  would  his  wife  approve?  Yes,  for  even  in 
girlhood  she  had  dreamed  of  missionary  work,  and 
wished  that  her  father  would  give  all  his  money  to 
missions!  and  now  that  the  question  came,  Will  you 
give  yourself  instead?  she  was  ready  to  do  so,  if  duty 
clearly  called.  And  yet  she  advised  her  husband 
to  go  and  talk  the  matter  all  over  with  his  widowed 
mother  before  deciding.  And  so  he  left  home  one 
morning  to  visit  that  other  home,  where  he  had  spent 
so  many  happy  years.  For  wherever  an  honored 
mother  lives  is  always  home,  even  when  you  your- 
self have  never  lived  there.  And  walking  in  just 
before  noon  he  told  his  surprised  mother  the  object 
of  his  visit. 

That  her  heart  was  glad  I  doubt  not,  for  she  had 
long  secretly  hoped  that  her  son  might  some  day  be 
called  to  this  great  work.  But  there  was  also  pain, 
and  a  deep  and  crushing  sense  of  the  greatness  and 
difficulty  of  the  work  on  which  her  son  proposed  to 
enter.  So  that  all  she  said  was,  "Let  us  make  this 
a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  and  not  decide  till  even- 
ing." And  in  silence  and  alone  mother  and  son  each 
sought  for  help,  till  finally  at  evening  the  mother 
put  her  message  into  words,  simple  but  sweet:  "My 
son,  you  better  go";  laying  her  only  son  thus  gladly 
on  God's  altar,  though  undoubtedly  with  an  aching 
heart.  For  sometimes  the  things  we  most  long  to 
do,  and  are  most  blessed  in  doing,  cost  our  weaker 
natures  a  vast  amount  of  pain. 

But  oh  how  richly  she  was  rewarded.  For  she 
lived  to  see  her  son  a  leader  and  teacher  and  helper 
of  men  in  many  lands;  and,  years  after,  on  her  dying 


4o  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

bed,  she  sent  this  message  to  him;  "Tell  Crosby 
that  God  gave  me  but  one  boy,  —  an  only  son,  —  and 
it  is  the  happiest  thought  of  my  dying  hour  that  he 
is  a  missionary." 

And  yet,  in  looking  back  over  the  years  to  that 
sacred  scene,  and  to  all  that  came  after,  we  cannot 
but  feel  that  mother  and  son  would  both  have  found 
life's  burdens  lighter,  and  its  harvest  home  even 
richer,  had  they  but  learned  to  fight  life's  battles  a 
little  less  silently  than  they  did  on  that  eventful  day 
of  prayer.  For  God  meant  that  even  in  our  greatest 
conflicts  we  should  if  possible  get  some  help  from 
human  friends,  sitting  silent,  or  almost  silent,  by  our 
side,  or  where  we  can  easily  and  often  call  them  in 
to  help;  and  prayer  was  never  meant  to  take  the 
place  of  human  help,  but  simply  to  supplement  and 
complete  it. 

DIFFICULTIES. 

And  yet  the  decisions  of  that  day  of  fasting  and 
of  prayer  were  right,  even  if  the  soul  conflict  had 
been  greater  than  it  need  have  been;  and  the  son 
went  back  to  Warren  fixed  in  his  purpose  to  go  as  a 
foreign  missionary,  if  the  mission  board  would  ac- 
cept him;  and  ere  long  he  had  been  Accepted  as  a 
missionary  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.*  and  appointed  to 
Turkey. 

*This  society,  "The  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  Foreign  Mis- 
sions," represented  at  that  time  only  the  Congregational  and  New  School 
Presbyterian  churches  of  America;  but  was  first  formed  at  a  time  when  no 
other  foreign  missionary  society  existed  on  this  western  continent;  hence  its 
quaintly  far  reaching  name.  Hereafter  we  shall  speak  of  it  simply  as  "The 
Board"  or  the  "American  Board." 


DEPARTURE  FOR  TURKEY.  4i 

But  there  were  rou^^h  places  to  be  crossed  by  the 
young  pastor  and  his  wife,  even  before  they  reached 
the  wild  Atlantic,  and  the  rough  mountain  roads  of 
Turkey.  For  first  of  all  the  church  for  which  they 
had  worked  so  lovingly  declared  that  they  ought  not 
to  go;  those  that  loved  them  most  using  the  argu- 
ments of  affection  which  it  is  so  hard  to  resist;  while 
others,  —  who  honored  and  admired  their  pastor, 
though  they  did  not  understand  him,  —  said  more 
harshly  that  he  had  no  right  to  leave  a  field  where 
God  had  given  him  so  much  influence.  But  he 
showed  them  that  even  in  a  foreign  land  he  could 
still  help  them  and  they  help  him;  and  that  the  call 
of  duty  brings  only  blessing  to  those  who  heed  it,* 

So  at  last  they  sadly  consented  to  the  calling  of  a 
council  for  the  dissolution  of  the  pastoral  relation; 
and  on  the  first  of  July,  1856,  the  sweet  toned  bell  of 
the  village  church  announced  that  the  council  had 
met,  and  that  the  pastor  with  his  church's  consent, 
was  to  be  promoted  to  a  higher,  but  more  dif^cult 
field  of  work. 

But,  all  through  the  years  that  followed,  that  pas- 
tor and  his  wife  felt  that  those  four  quiet  years  at 
Warren  were  among  the  most  eventful  of  their  lives; 
for  there  they  gained  a  deeper  insight  into  human 
nature,  a  clearer  conception  of  what  a  church  should 
be,  and  a  deeper,  larger  sympathy  for  the  home 
churches  and  pastors  —  whose  work  is  in  some  ways 
so  much  easier,  and  in  some  ways  so  much  harder 
than  that  of  a  foreign  missionary. 

*See  Tribute  from  Warren  Church,  Forty  Years  after  Mr.  Wheeler  Left  It. 
(In  Appendix.) 


42  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Here  too  they  learned  how  much  of  self-sacrifice 
and  economizing  an  average  contribution  to  foreign 
missions  represents;  and  so  were  doubly  anxious  to 
be  prudent  and  wise  in  spending  the  churches' 
money  in  foreign  lands. 

But  a  kind  Providence  permitted  still  other  delays. 
For  soon  after  his  resignation  of  the  pastorate,  his 
only  child,  a  little  girl  of  three  summers,  was  taken 
seriously  ill,  hovering  for  a  long  time  at  death's 
door;  and  then  his  wife  was  attacked  with  a  malig- 
nant form  of  typhoid  fever,  which  left  her  an  appar- 
ent wreck;  so  that  some  thoughtless  critics  said  that 
it  was  a  judgment  on  them  for  thinking  of  going  out 
as  foreign  missionaries!  And  a  council  of  physi- 
cians said  that,  even  if  Mrs.  Wheeler  rallied,  she 
would  probably  be  an  invalid  for  life. 

But  not  so  thought  the  brave  wife;  for  even  in  her 
delirium  she  said  "I  shall  not  die."  While  the  old 
black  nurse  who  risked  her  life  to  take  care  of  her 
was  so  beautifully  sure  that  she  would  get  well,  that 
the  dear  pastor's  wife  learned  from  her  an  added 
lesson  of  trust;  and  also  learned  better  than  ever  be- 
fore to  detect  true  loveliness  in  places  where  an  un- 
trained Anglo-Saxon  eye  fiinds  it  at  first  hard  to 
recognize. 

GOOD-BYE  TO  AMERICA. 

But  at  last  a  day  came  when  the  sick  one  could 
say  to  her  husband,  **I.went  almost  to  the  gates  of 
heaven;  but  God  said:  *Your  work  is  not  yet  done; 
go  back.'  "  And  later  on  a  day  came  when  the  dear 
wife  could  be  taken   home  to   "Mother's;"  that  the 


DEPARTURE  FOR  TURKEY.  43 

last  days  before  leaving  for  Turkey  might  be  spent 
at  home;  all  of  ihem  feeling  that  this  might  be  the 
last  time  that  they  would  ever  be  together  on  earth. 

The  days  passed  quickly  by;  the  last  evening  at 
home  came  and  went;  and  then  the  last  night  (spent 
in  battling  with  the  croup  and  with  fears  that  little 
Emily  might  have  to  go  to  a  better  land  than 
Turkey;)  and  then  the  silent  breakfast,  almost  un- 
touched, and  last  of  all  the  goodbye.  But  this  we 
must  not  describe,  only  to  say  that  the  brave  mother 
sent  her  only  son  away  without  a  tear;  for  she  be- 
lieved in  God  and  in  a  home  above,  and  had  thought 
of  them  so  often  and  so  lovingly  that  now  her  heart 
was  comforted  and  made  strong,  even  in  a  moment 
so  full  of  pain. 

A  few  days  later,  on  the  fifth  of  January,  1857,  the 
Henry  Hill  sailed  out  of  Boston  harbor,  bound  for 
Smyrna,  and  bearing  a  precious  cargo  of  eleven  mis- 
sionaries*  and  a  lot  of  New  England  rum. 

But  plus  four  and  minus  three  makes  only  plus 
one.  Surely  then  it  is  not  strange  that  even  missions 
are  sometimes  unsuccessful.  And  yet,  in  spite  of 
rum,  and  in  spite  of  mistakes,  both  at  home  and 
abroad,  missions  are  a  success;  and  a  blessing  to 
other  lands  and  to  the  church  at  home.  Let  us 
thank  God  for  this;  and  then  go  on  to  make  them 
better;  if  we  can. 

♦The  missionaries  were:  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Jackson  Coffing,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Chas.  F.  Morse,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  George  H.  White,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  O.  W.  Win- 
chester, Miss  Dodd  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wheeler.  I  need  hardly  add  that 
ocean  steamers  were  then  considered  too  costly  for  missionaries,  and  even 
passenger  ships  for  Turkey  were  rare;  so  that  missionaries  had  to  take  what 
they  could  get. 


44  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

The  voyage  was  a  rough  and  stormy  one;  but 
these  eleven  Jonahs  were  light  of  heart,  for  they  were 
flying  to  duty,  not  from  it;  and  like  most  missiona- 
ries could  enjoy  a  hearty  laugh  even  in  Neptune's 
troublous  realms. 

Here  too  were  formed  some  friendships  which 
were  a  source  of  strength  and  comfort  e'en  down  to 
oFd  age;  for  missionary  friendships,  once  well  formed, 
are  apt  to  be  very  lasting,  —  so  deep  and  so  absorb- 
ing are  the  themes  about  which  such  friendships 
center. 

ARRIVAL  IN  TURKEY. 

Thus  for  sixty  days  they  talked  and  laughed  and 
prayed  together,  and  often  sang  together  the  songs 
of  Zion  and  of  home,  till  at  last  Smyrna  was  reached, 
and  they  were  soon  parted,  each  to  go  to  a  different 
field,  though  all  working  for  the  same  Master. 

But  we  must  go  with  the  three  whose  fortunes  we 
have  set  out  to  follow:  namely;  Rev.  C.  H.  Wheeler, 
"missionary,"  Mrs.  S.  A.  Wheeler,  "assistant  mis- 
sionary," and  a  little  girl,  of  whom  the  printed  rec- 
ords make  no  mention  at  all.  But  following  the 
truer  lead  of  common  folk,  both  at  home  and  abroad, 
we  will  think  and  speak  ot  them  as  two  missionaries;* 
—  and  their  little  girl,  Emily,  we  will  call  an  "assist- 
ant missionary";  for  such  she  surely  was;  as  are  all 
who  help  to  make  the  missionary's  home  life  brighter 
and  more  intelligible  to  the  people  among  whom  he 
lives. 

♦Though,  for  statistical  purposes,  a  further  division  into  "male  mission- 
aries," "unmarried  ladies,"  married  ladies,  etc.,  is  of  course  necessary. 


DEPARTURE  FOR  TURKEY.  4$ 

First  of  all  our  travelers  went  to  Constantinople; 
and  thence  to  Trebizond,  on  the  Black  Sea,  where 
they  were  to  spend  two  months,  in  studying  the  lan- 
guage and  awaiting  further  instructions  from  the 
Annual  Meeting  of  the  Mission,  which  vvould  meet 
in  May.  Here  we  find  Mr.  Wheeler's  ideas  of  mis- 
sionary policy  developing  rapidly  on  some  points, 
which  his  trained  eye  could  see  even  before  he  knew 
the  language.  For  the  missionary  who  cannot  cor- 
rectly read  men,  even  before  he  reads  their  language, 
is  surely  doomed  to  littleness  and  failure;  unless 
this  power  be  developed,  or  rather  awakened  and 
trained  in  him;  as  it  often  can  be  awakened,  even 
where  it  does  not  seem  at  first  to  exist. 

Here,  then,  in  the  home  of  his  own  sister  and 
brother,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  O.  P.  Allen,  we  will  leave  him 
and  his  family;  while  we  turn  aside  to  take  our  first 
lesson,  from  his  lips  and  from  his  example,  as  to  mis- 
sion policy  in  general,  and  How  to  Choose  a  Mission 
Field,  in  particular. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

DECIDING   WHAT   TO   DO;   AND   HOW  TO 
DO  IT. 

CHOOSING  A  FIELD. 

In  logical  order  and  in  chronological,  one  of  the 
first  questions  which  a  man  should  answer  in  decid- 
ing whether  to  be  a  missionary  or  not  is  this:  Just 
what  is  the  object  of  missionary  work?  But  believ- 
ing that  this  question  cannot  be  helpfully  answered 
in  a  single  sentence  or  paragraph,  we  shall  leave  the 
story  of  Mr.  Wheeler's  life  to  answer  it  more  fully 
later  on;  and  turn  at  once  to  another  question,  How 
and  why  he  chose  the  field  he  did?  —  and  also  take 
up  some  hints  which  he  was  wont  to  give  to  others 
on  this  important  theme. 

First  of  all,  then,  he  believed  that  a  man  should  go 
where  he  can  do  most  good;  and  that  wherever  he 
can  do  most  good  he  will  be  sure  to  get  most  good. 
And  so,  when  at  last  the  fit  time  came,  and  he  saw 
clearly  that  he  could  do  more  good  abroad  than  at 
home,  it  was  with  a  glad  heart  that  he  went,  although 
he  dimly  knew  that  it  must  be  a  harder  field  than  the 
one  he  was  leaving. 

LETTING  OTHERS  CHOOSE  FOR  YOU. 

Secondly,  he  believed  that  "every  soul  should  be 

subject  to  higher  authorities,"  yes  even  a  free  Amer- 

46 


DFXIDING  WHAT  TO  DO.  47 

ican  missionary;  and  that  in  his  times,  as  in  Paul's, 
"existing  forms  of  authority  were  ordained  of  God," 
(Rom.  13:1.)  Hence  he  did  not  believe  in  saying, 
"I  will  go  to  such  and  such  a  place  or  nowhere;" 
unless  the  call  to  that  one  spot  were  a  most  excep- 
tionally strong  and  clear  one.  For  he  believed  that 
the  missionary  boards  and  their  chosen  agents  are 
likely  in  most  cases  to  be  the  ones  best  posted  as  to 
the  points  where  there  is  the  greatest  need  and  the 
most  hopeful  opening.  Hence  when  they  said, 
"Would  you  be  willing  to  go  to  Harpoot?"  he  said 
**Yes";  —  though  Harpoot  was  to  him  at  that  time 
one  of  the  least  attractive  fields  in  all  Turkey,  and 
one  to  which  he  had  secretly  hoped  he  would  not  be 

sent. 

REFUSING  TO  OBEY. 

But  though  he  believed  in  being  "subject  to  author- 
ity," he  also  realized  a  little  more  keenly  than  most, 
that  those  in  authority  are  sometimes  badly  mistaken 
in  matters  of  vital  importance  to  the  work  at  large, 
or  to  the  future  usefulness  of  individual  missionaries; 
and  that  in  such  cases  it  may  be  the  right  and  duty 
of  one  who  clearly  sees  that  they  are  mistaken  to 
resist  "the  rulers,"  out  of  regard  to  a  still  higher 
authority,  —  namely  God's*. 

Hence,  when  just  before  appointing  him  to  Har- 
poot, the  mission  proposed  sending  him  to  another 
station,  "because  so  many  boxes  had  to  be  shipped 

♦Paul,  in  Romans  thirteenth,  was  discussing  the  general  law  of  obedience 
to  authority  (vs.  i  and  2)  and  to  civil  authority  in  particular  (vs.  3  to  6)  with- 
out mentioning  exceptions  one  way  or  the  other;  and  even  Nero's  govern- 
ment was  entitled  in  most  matters  to  such  obedience  as  he  advises.  But  we 
are  discussing  the  exceptions;  rare,  but  undeniable. 


48  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

from  there  to  missionaries  in  various  parts  of  Persia/' 
the  young  missionary  said,  'I  shall  return  to  America, 
if  that  is  all  the  work  you  have  for  me  to  do;  for  some 
local  merchant  could  do  that  work  as  well  as  I,  and 
at  far  less  cost  to  the  American  churches.*  Why 
then  should  I  turn  aside  from  the  higher  work  for 
which  I  long,  and  have  so  carefully  prepared  myself 
—  to  simply  handle  boxes?' 

PROPER  REGARD  FOR  ONE'S  HEALTH. 

Still  another  ground  for  which  he  felt  that  a  mis- 
sionary would  be  justified  in  refusing  to  go  to  a  field 
was  in  cases  where  a  locality  was  so  unhealthy,  that 
the  cost  in  precious  lives  seems  unjustifiably  great. 
For,  said  he,  since  there  are  so  many  fields  white  for 
the  harvest,  surely  it  is  better  to  live  and  work  for 
Christ  than  to  rashly  make  haste  to  die  for  him. 
Though  he  never  included  in  this  category  a  man 
who  like  Livingstone  sacrificed  life  and  health  in 
making  an  opening  where  others  could  work  safely 
later  on;  and  where  the  opening  could  never  be  made 
in  any  other  way. 

He  also  strongly  urged  people  not  to  enter  a  field 
however  "rich  in  historic  memories"  it  might  be, 
where  actual  experience  has  proved  the  work  to  be 
beset  with  difficulties  which  make  any  large  results 
utterly  improbable.  P'or,  though  "even  one  soul"  is 
justly  precious,  he  felt  that  the  five  or  ten  or  one 
hundred  souls,  which  you  might  have  saved  some- 
where else,  and  the  one  or  two  or  ten  churches  which 
you  might  have  helped  plant  somewhere  else,  are 

*A  suggestion  afterwards  adopted  by  the  mission 


DECIDING  WHAT  TO  DO.  49 

certainly  just  as  precious,  and  likely  to  count  for 
more  in  heaven,  and  in  the  regeneration  of  earth, 
than  the  "one  soul"  of  which  we  sometimes  hear  so 
much;  and  jtist  as  likely  to  contain  a  Paul,  a  Luther 
or  a  Moody. 

GOING  TO  HARPOOT. 

Harpoot That  name  sounds  familiar  now  to 

many  ears;  and  makes  us  think  of  a  large  and  well 
established  work.  But  when  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Allen 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wheeler  started  for  Harpoot  in 
1857,*  the  place  was  one  of  the  newest  and  least 
known  stations  of  the  American  Board,  where  one 
lone  missionary,  Mr.  Dunmore,  who  went  there  only 
two  years  before,  was  working  on  amid  many  dan- 
gers and  much  fierce  opposition.  And  in  the  very 
letter  in  which  he  asked  for  help,  Mr.  Dunmore  had 
written,  "I  may  any  day  be  killed  like  a  dog  in  the 
streets." 

And  yet  the  people  were  being  roused;  the  very 
bitterness  of  their  opposition  proved  it.  But  was  it 
the  opposition  of  a  blind  and  hopeless  selfishness, 
like  Saul's  when  he  persecuted  David?  or  was  it  a 
misguided  and  ignorant  love,  like  that  of  another 
Saul  (of  Tarsus,)  when  he  too  persecuted  good  men? 
This  was  no  easy  question  to  answer.  But  still  an- 
other question  troubled  the  new  missionaries  as  they 
traveled  inland  —  as  to  whether  even  those  who  had 
come  out  as  protestants  were  really  such  at  heart. 

For  it  seemed  to  them  that  money  had  been  spent 

♦To  be  joined  a  year  later  by  Rev.  H.  N.  Barnum. 

(49—4) 


50  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

too  freely;  and  many  men  must  have  come  for  the 
money's  sake,  rather  than  the  Gospel's.  An^  time 
proved  that  some  had,  especially  some  of  those  who 
were  counted  "leading  protestants,"  2.n^  some  of  the 
paid  helpers.  Though  the  too  free  use  of  money  had 
done  the  most  harm  at  a  more  unexpected  point; 
namely  in  encouraging  a  spirit  of  obstinate  littleness 
and  selfishness  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  were  evi- 
dently real  truth-seekers,  but  very  ignorant  ones. 
But  of  this  we  shall  speak  more  fully  later. 

But  there  was  a  bright  side  to  the  picture  as  well. 
For  Mr.  Dunmore's  earnest,  energetic  and  loving 
Christian  life,  and  his  vigorous  proclamation  of  Bible 
truth  had  made  many  true  friends  for  the  Gospel, 
and  had  roused  in  others  a  healthy  curiosity  to  know 
about  it.  For  gospel  truth,  when  proclaimed  by  a 
man  who  loves  and  lives  it,  always  has  power;  even 
when  faulty  ways  of  working  prevent  it  from  having 
as  much  power  as  it  might  have  had. 

But,  as  we  have  said,  the  opposition  was  fierce;  so 
fierce  that  the  Sivas  missionaries  strongly  advised 
the  new  comers  not  to  go  any  farther.  But  they 
felt  that  duty  called  them  to  Harpoot,  and  so  they 
went;  though  it  was  thought  best  that  they  should 
enter  the  city  as  quietly  as  possible;  and  they  did 
not  even  dare  to  send  word  to  Mr.  Dunmore  that 
they  were  coming,  lest  the  news  should  some  how 
leak  out,  and  a  hostile  mob  should  meet  them  by 
the  way. 

Thus,  on  the  last  day  of  July,  1857,  did  they  enter, 
as  quietly  as  possible,  unannounced  and  unwelcome 


DECIDING  WHAT  TO  DO.  51 

(except  to  a  persecuted  few)  the  city  which  was  to 
be  their  home  for  thirty-nine  years,  and  the  school 
where  God  was  to  train  them  for  a  large  and  lasting 
service  in  his  kingdom. 

But  God  was  there;  and  the  call  of  duty  had  been 
plain.  For  they  had  wisely  "tarried  in  Jerusalem" 
till  it  was»  —  waiting  prayerfully,  thoughtfully  and 
diligejitly  for  the  promised  power  from  on  high.  But 
now  the  power  had  come,  or  rather  the  first  endue- 
ment  of  it;  and  they  were  ready  for  active  work; 
and  their  field  lay  before  them. 

BEAUTIES  OF  NATURE. 

But  what  was  the  field?  First  of  all  it  was  Har- 
poot  city  and  the  near  villages.  For  standing  on 
Harpoot  hill,  and  looking  to  the  south,  one  sees  scores 
of  villages  nestling  in  the  plain  below;  till  at  last  the 
Taurus  Mountains,  eighteen  miles  away,  complete  a 
picture  of  rare  beauty  and  loveliness;  one  on  which 
the  tired  missionary's  eyes  must  have  often  gazed, 
when  his  soul  was  almost  too  full  of  thoughts  which 
he  could  not  utter.  For  all  of  us  are  poets  in  our 
deeper  life. 

Then,  turning  to  the  north,  and  looking  over  a 
more  broken  country,  we  see  still  other  villages,  and 
the  dark  Euphrates  twelve  miles  away  —  with  the 
dreary,  robber-haunted  and  snow-capped  Anti-Tau- 
rus in  the  distance.  And  when,  at  certain  seasons 
of  the  year,  this  vast  and  varied  scene  is  haunted  with 
clouds,  chasing  each  other  from  hill  top  to  hill  top, 
or  burying  the  plain  in  one  vast  sheet  of  beauty,  or 
climbing  and  hiding  even  the  highest  mountain  tops, 


52  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES.    ' 

—  then  indeed  the  place  becomes  unspeakably  beau- 
tiful.* For  God  has  many  ways  of  comforting  and 
resting  those  who  need  His  help;  and  beautiful 
scenery  is  one  of  the  most  wonderful  of  them  all. 

But  the  Harpoot  field  is  not  limited  by  these  moun- 
tains; for  among  them  and  beyond  them,  there  are 
some  twenty  other  cities  and  hundreds  of  other  vil- 
lages which  must  look  for  their  gospel  light  to  the 
work  centering  in  Harpoot. 

BLESSINGS  IN  DISGUISE. 

Such  was  the  parish  committed  to  three  male  mis- 
sionaries and  their  wives.  Surely  a  rather  large 
field.  But  in  this  very  largeness  lay  the  grandeur 
of  their  opportunity,  and  one  of  the  most  distinctive 
features  of  a  wise  and  far-seeing  foreign  missionary 
policy.  For  missionaries  who  do  little  or  no  touring 
and  organizing,  but  simply  settle  down  to  evangeliz- 
ing one  little  town,  or  even  one  big  town,  are  doing 
so  small  a  work  as  to  hardly  deserve  the  name  of 
missionary;  unless  they  have  succeeded  in  gathering 
round  them  a  body  of  workers  from  many  different 
towns,  whom  they  not  only  educate  but  also  turn 
into  skillful  and  earnest  missionary  workers  and 
leaders. 

Here  we  are,  then,  in  Harpoot,  or  rather  here  are 
the  young  missionaries  whose  story  we  are  following, 
just  returned  from  their  first  tour,  which  was  made 
soon  after  they  reached  there.       And  we  cannot  but 

♦This  whole  description  of  the  scenery  around  Harpoot  is  for  the  most 
part  given  in  Mr.  Wheeler's  own  words;  and  beautifully  illustrates  how  keen 
was  his  enjoyment  of  the  scenes  which  he  describes. 


DECIDING  WHAT  TO  DO.  53 

be  glad  that  they  were  sent  to  a  comparatively  new 
field,  where  they  could  initiate  improvements  in  the 
world's  way  of  doing  missionary  work,  without  com- 
ing too  seriously  in  conflict  with  earlier  methods  of 
work,  which  it  was  their  duty  and  privilege  to  sup- 
plant. Just  as  in  the  wheat  fields  of  the  West  the 
reaping  machines  of  today  are  rapidly  supplanting 
others,  which  were  justly  a  wonder  twenty  years  ago, 
—  though  poor  when  compared  with  the  ones  now 
in  use,  for  the  invendoii  of  ivhicJi  the  old  reapers  have 
themselves  prepared  the  ivay. 

And  all  through  the  history  of  missions,  this  same 
quiet  gain  from  generation  to  generation  is  a  most 
cheering  feature;  though  sometimes  we  find  single 
workers  here  and  there  who  get  a  long  way  ahead  of 
their  times,  and  seemingly,  —  but  only  seemingly, — 
leave  no  impression  on  the  world's  progress  as  a 
whole. 

And  yet  we  cannot  wonder  that  some  who  had  long 
worked  in  the  old  ways,  and  did  not  believe  that  any 
improvements  were  necessary,  or  possible,  were 
rather  glad  that  this  new  and  lively  missionary,  who, 
talked  rather  too  much  to  the  point,  was  sent  to  so 
distant  a  station,  nineteen  days  journey  away; 
(though  it  was  only  750  miles  from  Constantinople; 
350  by  land;  the  rest  by  sea.) 

Nor  can  we  wonder  that  one  of  the  best  of  them 
remarked  later  on:  "We  shall  have  to  send  these 
disturbers  of  the  peace  home."  For  good  men  often 
forget  that,  from  one  point  of  view,  even  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  was  not  a  man  of  peace;  for  he  himself 
says,  "Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  send  peace  on 


54  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

earth;    I  came  not   to  send  peace;    but  a  sword," 
(Matt.  lo:  34). 

But  the  disturber  of  the  peace  was  not  sent  home; 
and  his  work  went  on.  Though  I  venture  the  opin- 
ion that  even  sending  him  home  would  not  have 
stopped  his  work.  For  such  men  are  not  easily 
stopped;  and  a  truth,  once  clearly  seen,  takes  too 
strong  a  hold  on  them  to  be  choked  out;  even 
though  its  ripening  may  be  delayed. 

REASONS  FOR  NOT   PREACHING  TO  MOHAM- 
MEDANS. 

But  of  the  various  races  which  inhabit  this  region, 
which  ones  are  the  missionaries  to  work  for?  The 
Christian  races?  (Armenians  and  Syrians?)  or  for 
the  Mohammedan  races?  (Turks  and  Koords?) 
Why,  of  course  the  latter,  you  say.  But  the  mis- 
sionaries said.  No. 

For  the  political  power  of  Mohammed  was  then, 
and  still  is,  too  great  and  too  cruel  to  make  such  mis- 
sionary work  wise,  so  long  as  there  are  many  more 
promising  fields  to  which  the  missionary  can  turn. 
For  surely,  even  in  saving  souls,  the  worker  should 
turn  to  the  most  promising  of  two  fields;  if  he  can- 
not occupy  them  both.  Hence  it  is  that  mission- 
aries in  Turkey  have  generally  given  most  of  their 
time  and  strength  to  work  among  the  Christian  races 
of  that  land,  and  not  among  the  Mohammedans.* 

♦And  yet  it  is  a  curiously  interesting  fact  that  when  missionaries  first  went 
to  Turkey,  in  1820,  it  was  with  a  vague  hope  that  they  might  also  do  some- 
thing for  the  "Mohammedans,  Pagans  and  Jews,"  as  well  as  the  Christians. 
But  ot  Pagans  there  were  none  found  in  the  country;  while  the  Jews  were 
found  to  be  too  opinionated  to  be  reached;  and  the  Mohammedans  too  much 
hedged  in  by  mental  sluggishness  and  the  danger  of  almost  certain  assassi- 
nation, if  they  were  to  openly  profess  Christianity. 


DECIDING  WHAT  TO  DO.  55 

But  why  send  missionaries,  asks  some  one,  to  those 
who  are  already  Christians?  Simply  because,  in  the 
deeper  sense  of  that  word,  many  who  professed  to  be 
Christians  were  not  Christians  at  all;  and  even  those 
who  were  true  Christians  were  very  weak  and  ignor- 
ant; so  that  great  gain  would  come  to  them,  and  to 
Christ's  kingdom  on  earth,  if  they  could  be  taught 
to  know  Christ's  teachings  more  fully,  and  follow  in 
his  steps  more  truly,  than  they  ever  could  have  done 
without  the  help  of  our  missionaries.  Though  Mr. 
Wheeler  also  believed  that  "in  giving  to  them  a  pure 
gospel,  we  are  taking  the  shortest  and  surest  way  of 
giving  it  ultimately  to  all  the  different  races  and 
tribes  among  whom  they  are  scattered,  in  Turkey, 
Russia  and  Persia."* 

LEARNING  THE  LANGUAGE. 

But  turning  aside  for  a  moment  to  a  matter  of 
detail,  let  us  take  a  look  at  Mr.  Wheeler's  method  of 
learning  the  language.  For  to  some  young  mission- 
aries it  is  sure  to  prove  suggestive  and  helpful. 

We  find  that  first  and  most  important  of  all,  he 
kept  himself  in  close  and  frequent  contact  with  the 
people;  bound  to  say  something  true  and  friendly, 
even  if  he  could  not  say  what  he  would  most  like  to 
say.  Thus  he  succeeded  in  gradually  overcoming 
that  timidity  and  fright  which  so  often  serves  as  a 
serious  hindrance  to  those  who  are  trying  to  master 
conversationally  a  new  language;  and  made  himself 
really  at  home  with  those  simpler  idioms  and  gram- 
matical forms  which  occur  hundreds  of  times  even  in 

♦TenjYears  on  the  Euphrates,  p.  60. 


56  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

a  few  hours  of  simple,  choppy,  but  correct  conversa- 
tion, such  as  children  use  as  a  stepping  stone  in  learn- 
ing to  reproduce  their  mother  tongue  with  such  won- 
derful exactness. 

Secondly,  he  made  out  in  English  lists  of  words 
which  he  wished  to  use,  and  got  his  teachers  to  give 
him  the  simplest  Armenian  equivalents  for  them; 
and  would  then  use  these  in  his  writing  and  talking 
in  preference  to  the  commoner  but  less  inspiring 
words  and  phrases  which  his  teachers  and  text  books 
would  otherwise  have  given  him  at  the  outset. 

Thirdly,  he  was  not  afraid  of  being  laughed  at;  and 
asked  every  one  to  help  correct  his  mistakes,  which 
were  sometimes  certainly  very  funny;  knowing  that 
a  friendly  laugh  will  fix  a  correction  in  the  memory 
far  better  than  a  mere  lonely  effort  of  the  will,  or  a 
labored  attempt  at  abstract  memorizing. 

And,  fourthly,  as  to  polished,  literary  Armenian, 
he  knew  very  well  that  to  get  that  too  soon  would 
only  be  a  drawback  on  his  usefulness  as  a  missionary; 
for  polish,  too  soon  acquired,  greatly  lessens  the 
vitality  and  power  of  one's  style,  even  in  writing  and 
speaking  one's  own  native  tongue;  and  he  knew  that 
in  learning  a  foreign  tongue  the  evil  results  of  too 
much  regard  for  polish  would  be  still  greater.  And 
yet,  in  order  to  acquire  thorough  accuracy,  without 
polish,  he  did  spend  much  time  in  writing  simple 
sentences,  letters,  sermons,  prayers,  and  even  trans- 
lations of  hymns  into  Armenian,  generally  choosing 
some  theme  of  real  interest  to  himself  —  that  he 
might  gradually  learn  to  think  and  feel  in  the  new 
language,    without   translating    from    English;    and 


DFXIDING  WHAT  TO   DO.  57 

might  also  get  his  teachers  to  point  out  and  correct 
his  mistakes. 

But  perhaps  the  most  pleasing  picture  of  all  is 
that  of  Mr.  Wheeler  going  from  shop  to  shop,  and 
village  to  village,  to  sell  Bibles  and  Testaments  and 
Primers,  and  two-cent  Gospels,  and  one-half  cent 
tracts,  in  the  language  of  which  even  he  himself 
knew  so  little;  and  then  sitting  down  to  teach  some 
one  else  the  alphabet,  which  he  himself  had  learned 
only  a  few  weeks  before.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  such 
a  man  got  others  to  reading  and  thinking;  and  suc- 
ceeded in  remembering  what  he  himself  had  learned, 
without  that  endless  succession  of  forgettings  which 
ordinarily  makes  the  learning  of  a  new  language  so 
slow  and  uninteresting?  —  No,  it  is  not  strange;  for 
tools  that  are  in  daily  use  for  teaching  and  uplifting 
souls  are  sure  not  to  get  rusty  as  easily  as  those 
which  are  simply  meant  for  use  sometime  in  the  fu- 
ture. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  TOURING. 

We  now  come  to  one  of  the  most  important,  but 
also  most  difficult,  parts  of  missionary  work;  namely 
touring  or  itinerating.  For  like  Jesus  and  his  apos- 
tles, every  live  pioneer  missionary  has  to  spend  a 
great  deal  of  time  in  going  from  town  to  town  and 
village  to  village,  to  scatter  the  good  seed.  And  to 
such  touring  Mr.  Wheeler  and  his  associates  owed 
in  no  small  measure  that  largeness  of  success  which 
so  strikingly  marks  the  results  of  their  labors. 

In  the  first  fifteen  years  of  Mr.  Wheeler's  mission- 
ary life  we  find  him  spending  more  than  half  of  his 


58  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

time  in  touring  from  town  to  town,  without  counting 
the  great  amount  of  store  to  store  work,  which  he 
did  in  Harpoot  city.  And  not  until  he  had  right 
around  him  in  the  city  itself  a  busy  hive  of  workers 

gathered  from  all  over  the  Harpoot  field come 

there  to  be  specially  trained  for  service ^did  he 

reluctantly  consent  to  do  less  general  touring;  and 
become  the  head  of  a  school,  while  others  took  up 
the  outside  work  which  he  laid  down. —  And  we  can- 
not but  feel  that  even  in  this  new  work,  in  which 
God  so  plainly  blessed  him,  his  sheaves  would  have 
been  still  greater,  and  his  soul  more  wholly  satisfied, 
had  he  and  his  assistants  a  little  oftener  deserted  the 
college  to  spend  a  week  or  two  among  the  churches; 
so  as  to  keep  in  more  perfect  harmony  with  them 
at  every  point. 

But  even  to  the  last  he  loved  to  point  out  how 
large  a  place  touring  filled  in  our  Lord's  earthly  min- 
istry; often  reminding  his  classes  of  the  significance 
of  such  passages  as  Matt.  9:35,  Mark  1:39  and  6:6  and 
Luke  13:22  and  of  many  others;  where  we  read  that 
he  went  from  city  to  city  and  village  to  village, 
"teaching"  and  "preaching"  and  "healing."  And 
that  in  speaking  of  his  own  mission,  he  does  not 
simply  say  that  he  came  to  save  the  lost,  but  that  he 
came  to  ''seek  and  save"  them,  (Luke  19:10.)  —  Then 
again  we  find  Christ  sending  out  the  twelve,  "two 
and  two,"  "to  preach  that  men  should  repent"  (Mark 
6:7,  12;)  and  at  still  another  time  he  sent  out  the 
seventy,  "as  lambs  among  wolves,"  to  tell  men  that 
'the  kingdom  of  God  had  come  very  near  to  them', 
(Luke  10:  I,  3,  9.) 


DECIDING  WHAT  TO  DO.  59 

But  most  of  all  did  Mr.  Wheeler  love  to  dwell  on 
Christ's  great  commission,  to  "Go  and  teach  all  na- 
tions," asking  whether  we  can  be  said  to  be  fulfill- 
ing the  spirit  of  this  commission,  if  we  preach  only 
in  one  town,  when  we  might  be  preaching  with  equal 
and  greater  effect  in  ten?  For  surely  we  are  some- 
times narrow  and  small  minded  in  our  zeal  to  be 
thorough.  —  Nor  are  we  excused  by  the  fact  that 
some  evangelists  and  missionaries  go  to  the  other 
extreme,  and  simply  plant  the  good  seed  without 
any  attempt  to  keep  the  weeds  from  growing  up 
around  it.  For  one  extreme  does  not  excuse  another; 
though  it  may  slightly  palliate  it.  But  of  this  we 
shall  speak  more  fully  later  on.     (See  index.) 

Then,  coming  down  the  stream  of  history  a  little 
farther,  he  would  speak  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  whose 
apostolic  tours  took  him  to  so  many  lands,  and  were 
so  carefully  planned  for  the  planting  of  permanent 
churches.  But  of  this  also  we  shall  speak  later.  So 
we  can  pass  on,  down  through  history;  and  wher- 
ever we  find  great  religious  leaders,  successfully 
starting  a  far  reaching  religious  reform,  we  still  find 
them  having  abundant  recourse  to  touring,  as  one  of 
their  most  important  helps;  or,  in  other  words,  such 
men  have  always  been  careful  to  plant  the  good 
seed  in  many  different  places,  so  that,  even  if  it 
were  choked  out  in  one  place,  it  might  live  on  in 
another. 

And  furthermore,  where  this  has  not  been  done, 
you  will  find  that  even  revivals  of  great  power  have 
often  been  followed  by  periods  of  great  darkness 
and  deadness.       We  do  then  sincerely  hope  that  in 


6o  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

the  missionary  work  of  the  future  this  duty  of  tour- 
ing will  be  more  widely  recognized;  and  that  mis- 
sionaries who  are  willing  to  settle  down  and  spend 
all  their  energies  on  one  single  town,  or  group  of 
towns,  will  be  made  to  feel  that  that  way  of  working 
is  neither  economical  nor  right,  on  heathen  soil,  and 
is  also  sure  to  lead  them  and  their  converts  into  a 
great  many  unfortunate  ruts  and  mistakes. 

For  that  which  a  settled  pastor  in  a  thoroughly 
Christian  community  ought  to  do,  a  missionary  ought 
not  to  do;  because  he  cannot  find  in  any  one  town 
enough  men  who  are  willing  to  hear  and  really  profit 
by  his  message;  and  can  also  greatly  multiply  his 
power  by  committing  the  single  towns  to  competent 
native  assistants  at  a  very  early  day.  (See  Chapter 
Eleven.) 

THE  MISSIONARY  AS  AN  EXPLORER. 

It  is  curious  and  surprising  even  here  in  Christian 
America,  to  see  what  a  difference  there  often  is  in 
the  social,  moral  and  religious  atmosphere  of  two 
towns,  only  a  very  few  miles  apart.  And  this  same 
difference  often  exists  between  different  towns  on 
mission  soil:  one  town  being  quick  to  welcome  the 
gospel,  or  to  persecute  it  in  mere  well-meaning  ig- 
norance, ( iTim.  1:13;)  while  another,  near  by,  seems 
to  persecute  it  only  in  bitterness,  or  remains  year 
after  year  hopelessly,  doggedly  indifferent.  And 
right  here  lie  some  of  the  most  important  benefits 
of  touring;  for  it  keeps  the  missionary  from  being 
discouraged;  and  also  shows  him  which  points  to  let 
alone,  and  which  ones  to  visit  still  oftener  in  person 
or  by  deputy. 


DECIDING  WHAT  TO  DO.  6i 

For  one  of  the  most  far  reaching  laws  of  all  life 
and  history  is  that  "Whosoever  hath,  to  him  shall  be 
given;  but  whosoever  hath  not,  from  him  shall  be 
taken  away  even  that  which  he  hath;"*  such  being, 
in  God's  kind  providence,  the  surest  and  best  way  of 
giving  foolish  freemen  a  chance  to  repent. 

Hence  to  such  exploration  as  this  the  Harpoot  mis- 
sionaries gave  much  time.  So  that  seeing  my  father 
make  maps,  and  hearing  him  ask  men  where  they 
came  from,  and  what  sort  of  a  place  it  was,  and  then 
starting  out  to  see  for  himself;  such  are  some  of  the 
earliest  memories  of  my  childhood;  to  which  I  ought 
perhaps  to  add  the  solemn  and  yet  merry  gatherings 
in  which  the  experiences  of  each  tour  were  discussed 
—  first  in  a  station  meeting,  where  fathers,  mothers 
and  children  were  gathered  together  —  and  then, 
later  on,  in  a  more  formal  and  business  like  way; 
though  as  a  boy  I  often  found  some  excuse  for  look- 
ing in  on  them,  to  see  what  they  were  doing:  —  and 
I  well  remember  being  sometimes  astonished  that 
my  father  should  speak  so  freely  and  informally  in 
such  an  august  assembly,  where  such  hard  and  awful 
problems  were  being  discussed. 

THE  MISSIONARY  AS  A  FRIENDLY   VISITOR. 

Going  a  step  farther,  we  find  the  missionary  going 
out  among  the  people  as  a  friendly  visitor  from  house 
to  house.  For  though  his  day  times,  when  at  home, 
were  generally  full  of  other  more  congenial  work, 
such  as  selling  books,  holding  meetings,  giving  ad- 
vice,  (very  definite  and  personal)  visiting  schools, 

♦Matt.  13:12  and  25:29,  Mark  4:25,  Luke  8:18,  and  19:26. 


62  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

seeing  people  from  out  of  town,  etc.,  etc.;  when  even- 
ing came  he  was  willing  to  start  out  to  make  social 
calls,  alone  or  with  my  mother;  and  some  times  I  was 
allowed  to  go  with  them. 

At  such  times  what  impressed  me  most  was  the 
dark  and  deserted  streets,  the  swinging  lantern,  the 
street  dogs  my  father  had  to  push  out  of  the  way 
with  his  cane,  and  lastly  the  fact  that  my  father  was 
a  very  tall  man  and  a  missionary !  But  of  what  the 
missionary  said  and  did  after  he  reached  his  destina- 
tion I  must  not  attempt  to  write;  for  such  rather 
formal  calls  never  had  to  him  or  to  me  the  charm 
that  they  have  for  some,  and  I  am  sure  I  should  not 
do  the  subject  justice. 

But,  though,  Mr.  Wheeler  did  give  some  time  to 
such  more  or  less  formal  calls,  and  greatly  honored 
those  who  were  willing  and  able  to  make  such  visit- 
ing a  regular  part  of  their  work, he  himself 

felt  called  to  a  more  searching  and  less  formal  style 
of  utterance,  both  in  public  and  in  private,  such  as 
we  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  of  later  on.  And 
even  in  more  formal  visiting,  we  have  always  noticed 
that  those  missionaries  (both  female  and  male)  are 
most  successful  who  always  give  their  entertainers 
something  to  DO;  and  then  later  on  call  around  to 
see  how  well  they  are  doing  it. 

And  yet,  whenever  a  missionary's  wife  has  a  heart 
full  to  overflowing  of  love,  it  is  pleasant  to  see  how 
her  face,  her  presence,  her  dress,  her  smile,  her  hus- 
band and  her  children  do  all  of  them  help  to  uplift 
the  people  around  her;  when  as  yet  she  can  talk  only 
four  or  five  words  of  the  unknown  tongue  which  she 


DECIDING  WHAT  TO  DO.  63 

has  set  out  to  learn.  And  however  many  interrup- 
tions she  may  have  in  learning  the  language,  exper- 
ience shows  that  she  will  be  most  successful  in  over- 
coming the  difficulties,  and  in  doing  good,  if  in  sim- 
ple, informal  ways  (reading,  singing,  praying  and 
talking)  she  keeps  herself  in  close  sympathy  with 
the  daily  heart  life  of  the  mothers  and  sisters  and 
little  children  around  her. 

"SHALL  THE  MISSIONARY  SELL  BOOKS?" 

"But  shall  I  sell  books?"  asks  the  missionary.  Of 
course  not,  say  some.  Of  course  not,  said  the  good 
people  of  Harpoot,  when  Mr.  Wheeler  set  out,  book- 
box  in  hand,  to  sell  Bibles  and  Testaments,  Primers 
and  Gospels,  Hymn  Books  and  tracts,  in  the  market 
places  of  Harpoot.  For  they  said  the  missionary's 
time  was  too  precious,  and  he  would  also  lose  his 
dignity,  if  he  were  to  go  through  the  markets,  sell- 
ing books. 

But  "No"  said  he,  "if  that  is  true,  then  the  sooner 
I  lose  my  dignity  the  better  it  will  be  for  you  and 
for  me.  For  how  else  am  I  to  come  into  such  close 
contact  with  men?  And  how  else  am  I  to  get  such 
good  chances  to  give  men  advice  which  they  need, 
but  would  never  give  me  a  chance  to  give  otherwise? 
And  how  else  can  I  so  surely  make  them  remember 
my  message,  and  pass  it  on  to  others,  as  by  giving 
it  to  them  partly  in  print? 

And  so  he  attached  great  importance  to  the  sell- 
ing of  books,  remembering  how  in  the  days  of  the 
Reformation  Wycliffe's  copyists,  and  Luther's  press- 


64  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

es  had  greatly  multiplied  the  power  of  the  written 
and  spoken  word.* 

And  delightful  it  is  indeed  to  see  how  often  the 
work  in  some  hostile  or  unheard  of  village  would 
open  up  in  response  to  a  single  Bible  or  Testament, 
that  had  gone  there  before  the  missionary,  to  pre- 
pare the  way  for  him;  while  still  others  would  send 
for  a  missionary,  or  else  come  to  some  missionary, 
and  say,  "Won't  you  explain  this  book  to  me?"  and 
still  others,  who  dared  not  come  near  the  missionary's 
home,  would  get  a  Bible  and  secretly  study  it  for 
months  together  before  they  found  courage  enough 
to  take  an  open  stand. 

And  not  only  did  the  missionaries  sell  books  in 
Harpoot  city,  but  they  also  sold  them  all  over  the 
great  field  committed  to  their  care;  and  when  Mr. 
Wheeler  started  out  on  his  tours,  he  always  carried 
with  him  a  goodly  supply  of  books  to  be  used  in 
reaching  and  teaching  and  training  men. 

And  not  only  did  he  sell  books  himself,  but  col- 
porteurs were  also  sent  out  to  sell  them  from  town 
to  town;  just  as  in  the  times  of  Luther  and  Calvin 
great  numbers  of  "pious  peddlers,  laden  with  precious 


*D'Aubigne's  "History  of  the  Reformation"  (Vol.  Ill;  p.  75)  states  that 
of  Luther's  German  New  Testament  alone  fifty-eight  editions  were  sold  in 
eleven  years;  and  on  another  page  (p.  83)  he  states  that  from  1521  to  1595 
sixty-seven  editions  of  Melancthon's  "Commonplaces  of  Theology"  were 
sold,  without  including  translations.  And  yet  these  are  but  two  out  of  hun- 
dreds of  works  published  and  circulated  by  the  reformers,  (see  p.  103)  when 
as  yet  schools  were  but  few  and  far  between.  And  even  the  Romanist  theo- 
logians were  forced,  in  desperation,  to  publish  a  translation  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament (Luther's  version  with  a  few  alterations)  and  this  the  people  were 
allowed  to  read!  (Ibid.  p.  77.) 


DECIDING  WHAT  TO  DO.  65 

books,  passed  from  town  to  town,  and  house  to  house, 
knocking  at  every  door."* 

And  furthermore  the  missionaries  succeeded  in 
forming  Bible  Societies  in  many  of  the  surrounding 
cities  and  villages;  and  many  are  the  donkey  loads 
of  Bibles  and  other  good  books  that  have  gone  out 
from  Harpoot  city  to  these  local  societies,  to  be  sold 
by  them,  as  a  most  effective  help  in  bringing  men 
to  Christ.  For  here  too,  as  in  the  case  of  touring, 
we  find  an  important  help  to  effective  missionary 
work,  of  which  many  missionaries,  in  many  lands, 
have  made  vigorous  and  fruitful  use;  though  some 
have  sadly  neglected  it,  greatly  to  their  own  loss. 

But  why  should  a  missionary  spend  any  of  his 
precious  time  in  peddling  books  and  tracts,  when 
natives  of  the  country  can  do  the  work  just  as  well? 

To  this  question  Mr.  Wheeler  gave  several  an- 
swers, (i)  Because  in  the  earlier  stages  of  one's 
work  they  cannot  do  it  just  as  well;  and  even  in  the 
later  stages  they  will  not  do  it  as  well,  if  the  mission- 
ary gives  them  the  least  excuse  for  feeling  that  it  is 
the  work  of  mere  underlings,  "mere  peddlers"  in  the 
low,  small  sense  of  that  word. 

(2)  The  missionary  should  sell  books,  because  it  is 
one  of  the  most  effective  ways  of  finding  out  men 
who  are  secretly  longing  for  help. 


♦D'Aubigne's  "History  of  the  Reformation,"  Vol.  Ill,  pages  103  and  104 
and  footnote;  and  p.  437. 

(5) 


66  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

(3)  It  not  only  enables  him  to  find  such  men,  but 
also  to  give  them,  without  any  rudeness  or  intrusion, 
just  the  help  they  need.  For  the  book  in  their 
hands,  for  which  they  have  just  paid,  will  often  en- 
able you  to  speak  freely  of  almost  any  subject  under 
heaven  on  which  you  feel  that  they  need  a  word  of 
advice. 

(4)  The  man  who  buys  your  book,  and  Pays  For 
It,  will  think  of  your  spoken  message  much  oftener 
and  more  definitely. 

(5)  He  will  be  more  likely  to  pass  on  the  good 
word  to  others;  and  the  Biblt  or  Gospel  or  leaflet 
which  you  have  sold  will  often  go  where  you  cannot 
go  yourself,  and  would  not  even  be  allowed  to  fol- 
low. 

(6)  You  will  find  that  this  close,  intensely  personal 
contact  with  men  will  teach  you  many  things  about 
human  nature,  (and  how  to  help  it,)  which  you  can- 
not learn  as  fully  or  as  deeply  by  more  general  and 
formal  contact.  Though  for  most  of  these  blessed 
results,  there  is  one  condition,  namely  that  you  study 
each  case  most  carefully  and  prayerfully;  and  never 
take  a  single  cent  of  a  man's  money,  unless  you  are 
satisfied  that  the  book  you  ask  him  to  buy  is  one  he 
really  needs  and  can  understand :  and  that  he  feels  his 
need  keenly  or  at  least  honestly  enough  to  make  sure  of 
his  getting  out  of  it  some  real  help,  and  enough  help  to 
make  him  really  grateful  to  you  at  heart  for  having 
sold  him  the  book;  though  in  some  cases  he  may  try 
to, cover  up  his  gratitude  outwardly.       Then  book 


DECIDING  WHAT  TO^DO.  67 

selling  becomes  a  grand  occupation,  and  one  to  be 
proud  of;  and  one  that  helps  to  rouse  and  perfect 
all  that  is  noblest  in  the  bookseller's  own  life,  and 
also  in  the  life  of  his  customers. 

TEACHING  MEN  HOW  TO  READ. 

But  the  comical  part  of  it  all  is  that  Mr.  Wheeler's 
book  selling  was  in  a  country  where  not  more  than 
one  man  in  fifty  knew  how  to  read;  even  the  priests 
and  choirboys  often  learning  their  whole  ritual,  in  a 
long  forgotten  tongue,  by  ear  and  not  by  sight.  For 
even  the  Bibles  that  they  kissed  and  the  sacred  songs 
which  they  chanted  were  in  the  Ancient  Armenian 
tongue,  which  very  few  of  the  lower  clergy  or  of  the 
common  people  could  understand.  And  so  it  came 
to  pass  that  the  missionary's  frequent  question,  "Gar- 
tal  kee-des?"  "Do  you  know  how  to  read?"  seemed 
like  a  broad  joke  and  led  on  to  much  lively  and 
helpful  discussion;  for  the  missionary  had  to  prove 
that  common  men,  and  even  women,  ought  to  know 
how  to  read,  often  proving  that  they  could  learn,  by 
giving  some  plucky  man  in  the  crowd  his  first  lesson 
in  reading.  Then  they  were  quite  willing  to  buy 
Primers  and  Testaments,  or  perhaps  a  whole  Bible, 
in  the  hope  of  learning  to  read  it  soon. 

And  a  curious  fact  it  is  that  most  of  the  books 
sold  in  the  earlier  years  of  his  missionary  life  were 
to  just  such  men  as  these;  men  who  could  not  read 
a  single  line,  till  the  missionary  set  out  to  sell  them 
a  book,  and  gave  them  sample  readings  from  it,  and 
a  first  lesson  to  get  them  started,  with  the  promise 


68  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

of  a  teacher,  for  a  few  weeks,  if  they  would  help 
pay  his  board.*  And  so  deeply  were  the  mission- 
aries impressed  with  the  need  of  teaching  men  to 
search  the  Scriptures  for  themselves,  that  the  most 
impressive  part  of  a  sermon  on  the  Bible  often  was 
to  see  how  many  of  the  congregation  would  promise 
to  invest  from  six  to  twelve  cents  apiece  in  a  Prim- 
er, or  "Key  to  the  Bible,"  as  it  was  called,  so  as  to 
learn  to  read  that  Bible  for  themselves. 

Thus  were  thousands  started  in  searching  the 
Scriptures;  and  the  missionary's  earnest  talk  became 
the  starting  point  of  a  long  series  of  lessons  with 
the  Bible  as  text  book;  for  even  the  Primer  was  full 
of  Bible  verses,  and  short  little  prayers  for  the  peo- 
ple to  memorize.  And  to  this  day,  whenever  •!  see 
a  Primer  in  any  language  under  Heaven,  it  seems  to 
me  almost  a  sacred  book,  so  deep  and  so  uplifting 
was  the  conception  of  knowledge,  and  the  proper 
use  of  knowledge,  that  my  father's  talks  impressed 
upon  me. 

FOUR  WAYS  OF  PREACHING. 

We  now  come  naturally  to  another  part  of  the 
missionary's  work,  namely,  that  of  presenting  truth 
in  a  more  or  less  formal  way.  This  need  not  always 
take  the  same  form;  for  with  one  man  it  may  be  the 
power  of  an  evangelist  when  standing  in  the  pulpit; 


♦Though  later  on,  in  cases  where  there  was  some  boy  or  girl  in  town  who 
could  give  the  lessons,  and  no  better  teacher  could  be  found,  the  mission- 
aries sometimes  paid  a  tiny  salary  to  these  young  teachers  for  giving  the 
needed  lessons,  the  pupils  themselves  saving  up  their  pennies  for  the  more- 
costly  Testament  and  coarse  print  Bible,  which  would  be  needed  as  soon  as 
the  Primer  was  fairly  mastered. 


DECIDING  WHAT  TO  DO.  69 

with  another  it  may  be  the  power  to  rouse  and  hold 
men  in  informal,  but  lively  discussion;  with  a  third 
more  timid  nature  it  may  be  the  power  to  comfort 
and  advise  little  groups  of  men  or  women  more 
quietly,  but  just  as  effectively;  while  a  fourth  may 
prefer  to  meet  inquirers  one  by  one,  and  may  have 
so  much  power  in  helping  them  as  to  really  reach 
and  impress  just  as  many  souls  in  a  life  time  as  he 
who  day  after  day  addresses  thousands. 

But  in  all  of  these  cases  there  must  be  the  power 
to  interest;  and  not  only  that,  but  also  power  to  help 
men  in  making  their  daily  lives  stronger  and  better. 
And  if  any  man  finds  in  himself  nothing  but  orator- 
ical power,  —  that  is  to  say  a  power  to  interest  and 
entertain  men,  without  some  definite  after  helpful- 
ness—  Mr.  Wheeler  would  have  strongly  advised 
such  a  one  not  to  go  out  as  a  missionary;  for  on 
missionary  soil  he  would  do  more  harm  and  much 
less  good  than  he  can  do  here  in  the  home  land. 

But  let  us  look  more  closely  at  the  four  ways 
of  working,  spoken  of  above;  namely,  formal  pulpit 
addresses,  informal  and  lively  discussions,  both  pub- 
lic and  private,  quiet  talks  to  small  groups,  and  giv- 
ing advice  to  men,  one  by  one,  in  private.  Un- 
doubtedly many  an  earnest  pastor  and  missionary 
excels  more  or  less  in  all  four  of  these  ways  of 
working;  and  yet  it  will  be  found  that  generally  they 
are  preeminently  successful  in  only  one  of  them. 

And  as  we  look  out  over  the  mission  field,  it  is 
pleasant  to  see  how  strikingly  this  diversity  of  gifts 
is  illustrated;  and  how  easy  it  is  to  single  out  those 


70  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

who  excel  in  each  of  these  varied  ways  of  working  — 
all  doing  the  Master's  work,  though  doing  it  so  dif- 
ferently. 

But  to  which  group  did  Mr.  Wheeler  belong?  In 
answer  to  this  inquiry,  all  who  knew  him  at  all  inti- 
mately would  probably  say  that  he  was  strong  in  all 
four;  but  that  he  most  excelled  in  informal  discus- 
sion and  debate  (before  crowds  both  large  and 
small)  and  secondly  in  private  advicegiving.  — True, 
he  sometimes  became  so  deeply  impressed  with  the 
sweet  and  solemn  poetry  of  an  occasion  that  he 
would  become  rhythmical  in  thought,  and  musical 
in  utterance,  and  at  such  times  the  people  would  lis- 
ten almost  spell-bound;  but  generally  he  preferred  a 
safer  though  less  striking  method  of  talking,  and 
gave  men  bread  and  meat,  instead  of  cake  and 
cream;  for  he  well  knew  that  what  men  most  need 
is  those  simpler  truths  of  life  which  bring  peace  and 
strength  and  a  slowly  deepening  gladness,  but  are 
not  specially  entertaining,  when  first  heard  or  talked 
about. 

Hence  his  conception  of  preaching  was  a  very 
simple  one,  and  included  any  sort  of  conversation 
or  address  which  would  make  gospel  truth  more  at- 
tractive and  helpful  to  his  hearers.  And  this  also 
made  him  more  careful  to  use  only  such  arguments 
as  his  hearers  could  comprehend;  and  not  to  press 
even  these  any  farther  than  was  necessary  to  make 
them  stop  and  think.  For  he  felt  that  an  otherwise 
helpful  argument  may  be  spoiled  by  giving  a  man 
more  than  his  intellect  or  his  pride  can  stand. 


DECIDING  WHAT  TO  DO. 


Benefits  of  Persecution. 


But  among  the  blessings  promised  the  followers 
of  Jesus  is  persecution  ( Mark  10:30)  and  we  are  told 
to  "rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad,  when  men  perse- 
cute us  and  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  m?,  falsely 
for  Christ's  sake;"  and  some  of  the  hottest  of  this 
persecution,  though  by  no  means  all  of  it,  comes  to 
most  missionaries  very  early  in  their  missionary  life. 
What  light  does  Mr.  Wheeler's  life  throw  on  this 
important  subject? 

Well,  for  one,  he  soon  discovered  that  in  some 
cases  persecution  is  not  wholly  "false"  (Matt.  5:11) 
and  may  in  part  be  due  to  the  fact  that  good  men 
have  well-meaningly  but  wrongfully  trespassed  on 
the  rights  or  weaknesses  of  others;  and  hence  he 
learned  early  in  his  missionary  life  to  guard  against 
this  error  very  carefully. 

Secondly  he  loved  to  remind  us  that  persecution 
is  sometimes  due  to  the  utter  heartlessness  and  self- 
ishness of  one's  persecutors;  and  that  in  such  cases 
the  less  we  have  to  do  with  them  the  better  (Matt. 
10:23).  But  that  in  other  cases  persecution  is  sim- 
ply due  to  the  mistaken  zeal  of  really  true-hearted 
men,  who  have  only  misjudged  you;  and  that  quiet 
perseverance  in  well-doing  will  generally  bring  such 
as  these  around  to  your  side  sooner  or  later;  some 
communities  and  persons,  who  were  at  first  among 
the  most  bitter  persecutors  of  the  young  missionary 
and  his  colleagues,  having  become  later  on  excep- 
tionally faithful  and  earnest  fellow-workers  in  God's 
great  vineyard. 


72  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Thus  persecution  taught  him  a  larger  charity  for 
good  men,  and  a  larger  prudence  in  letting  alone 
those  who  were  persistently  bad  and  heartless;  while 
it  also  brought  him  nearer  and  nearer,  day  by  day, 
to  his  Saviour,  and  to  that  heaven  "where  all  is 
love." 

SHALL  WE  PUNISH  EVIL  DOERS? 

But  is  it  right  for  the  missionary  to  ever  appeal 
to  the  hand  of  law  for  protection,  when  persecuted? 
To  this  question,  which  has  often  been  asked,  Mr. 
Wheeler  replied  unqualifiedly,  "Yes,"  whenever  such 
an  appeal  would  tend  to  rouse  the  public  conscience 
and  would  be  clearly  recognized  as  just  by  at  least 
a  part  of  the  community.  But  he  believed  that 
other  remedies  (Matt.  18:15  to  17)  should  be  tried 
first;  and  that  we  should  be  careful  not  to  make  our 
appeal  to  law  in  a  spirit  of  mere  haste  or  retaliation. 
And,  furthermore,  he  also  felt  that  it  was  best,  gen- 
erally, to  appeal  to  the  ecclesiastical  superiors  of  a 
wrong-doer  (for  a  sort  of  arbitration)  rather  than 
to  the  civil  courts  of  law. 

Hence  petty  lawsuits  were  to  him  hateful,  even 
as  they  were  to  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles 
(I  Cor.  6:7)  who  himself,  in  larger  matters,  hesitated 
not  to  appeal  to  the  hand  of  law  for  protection, 
whenever  such  appeal  could  be  of  any  avail.* 


*As  to  Matt.  5:38-42,  we  should  remember  that  Christ  is  simply  correcting 
a  commou  misconception  of  verse  38.  which  made  it  an  excuse  (or  mere  re- 
veng-e;  so  that  all  it  can  fairly  be  made  to  teach  is  that  we  should  not  carry 
self-defence  and  law  too  far;  lest  they  degenerate  into  mere  hatred  and  self- 
ishness. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  MISSIONARY'S  CREED. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  HAVING  A  RIGHT  CREED  AND 
USING   IT  RIGHTLY. 

But  the  missionary  must  have  a  message,  for  a 
missionary  without  some  message  would  certainly 
be  an  absurdity.  And  he  must  also  have  a  creed; 
for  a  man  without  a  creed,  true,  or  untrue,  or  half- 
true,  is  an  impossibility;  though  his  creed  may  be 
chaotic  and  worthless.  Hence  the  question  what  a 
missionary  believes  is  an  exceedingly  vital  one,  es- 
pecially in  times  like  these,  when  there  is  so  much 
dispute  as  to  just  what  beliefs  are  the  most  helpful 
and  well  grounded. 

For  we  live  in  a  generation  in  which  many  a  well 
meaning  man,  both  in  business  and  in  the  ministry, 
has  made  a  total  or  partial  wreck  of  his  life's  useful- 
ness through  not  knowing  just  what  to  believe;  or 
else  not  knowing  how  to  use  the  little,  or  the  much, 
that  he  did  believe;  and  we  feel  sure  that  many  will 
be  helped  by  a  brief  statement  of  Mr.  Wheeler's 
creed,  and  of  the  way  in  which  he  used  it. —  For  no 
creed,  either  orthodox  or  heretical,  (Acts  24:14)  will 
ever  save  a  man  from  failure,  unless  he  is  careful  to 

use  it  wisely. 

73 


74  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

For  though  Mr.  Wheeler  often  reminded  us  that 
the  men  who  have  been  most  successful  in  making 
the  world  better  have  all  been  followers  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ;  he  was  also  careful  to  remind  us  that 
there  are  many  pygmies  and  weaklings  in  the  Chris- 
tian camp,  men  who  are  powerless  to  help  others 
and  are  themselves  groping  in  the  dark  much  of  the 
time;  and  that  carelessness  in  thought  or  over-refine- 
ment in  mere  abstract  questions  of  doctrine,  would 
be  both  alike  equally  sure  to  land  us  in  the  dark. 

Let  us  then  see  what  were,  in  his  estimation,  some 
of  the  corner-stones  of  Christian  doctrine,  without 
which  no  man's  life  can  be  strong  and  healthy,  and 
able  to  really  uplift  his  fellow-men,  trying  to  do  it 
in  words  which  even  a  perplexed  theological  student 
cannot  fail  to  understand. 

For  even  the  Bible  sometimes  becomes  a  dark 
and  perplexing  book,  because  of  the  way  in  which 
we  misunderstand  some  seemingly  simple  word  or 
group  of  words,  over  which  some  teacher,  living  or 
dead,  has  unwittingly  thrown  a  flood  of  darkness. 

THE  BIBLE. 

First  of  all  then,  we  find  that  Mr.  Wheeler  had  a 
strong  love  for  the  Bible  and  its  teachings.  And  so 
great  was  that  love  and  respect  that  he  was  always 
trying  to  work  into  his  own  life  and  character  all 
the  parts  of  which  God's  spirit  had  shown  him  his 
need;  and  yet  was  willing  to  cheerfully  let  alone  the 
parts  which  perplexed  him,  or  seemed  as  yet  to 
meet  no  need  in  his  own  or  his  people's  life.     For 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CREED.  75 

he  always  judged  the  book  as  we  do  our  best  friends, 
by  the  parts  which  he  understood  and  not  by  those 
which  were  more  or  less  obscure  or  perplexing. 

And  thus  it  came  to  pass  that,  though  his  own 
creed  was  one  that  Prof.  X.  would  have  called  very 
orthodox,  he  had  a  wonderful  charity  for  men  whose 
views  on  inspiration  he  could  not  accept;  provided 
only  they  had  that  deeper  Christian  common-sense 
and  humility  which  enables  a  man  to  gradually  out- 
grow and  correct  even  a  very  faulty  creed.  "And 
pray,  how  does  Christian  common-sense  differ  from 
any  other?"  Well,  as  to  that,  we  never  heard  him 
say;  save  that  "sanctified  common-sense,"  as  he 
called  it,  is  only  found  at  all  largely  in  men  whose 
hearts  and  brains  are  full  to  overflowing  of  love  for 
Christ,  and  that  even  in  such  men  it  is  sometimes 
sadly  deficient.  And  yet  I  think  we  shall  get  a 
pretty  clear  idea  of  what  he  meant  by  it  as  we  fol- 
low his  life,  and  see  in  how  many  ways  it  showed 
itself  both  in  the  things  he  said  and  did,  and  in 
those  he  left  unsaid  and  undone. 

NATURE  AND  EXPERIENCE. 

But  as  to  the  book  of  nature  and  the  teachings  ot 
Christian  experience,  of  which  we  now  hear  so  much, 
both  of  these  seemed  to  him  sealed  books,  or,  rath- 
er, very  puzzling  ones,  even  when  open;  and  yet, 
judging  men  by  their  fruits,  he  was  always  glad,  if 
others  could  find  in  nature  and  in  life  what  he  found 
most  clearly  and  most  surely  revealed  only  in  Scrip- 
ture. Thus  it  is  that  diverse  men,  with  diverse  gifts 
and  diverse  limitations,  do,  when  true,  join  hands  in 


76  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

showing  our  Christian  faith  in  many  different  lights, 
suited  to  many  different  minds  and  different  states 
of  even  the  same  mind;  for  I  believe  that  even  my 
father  rose  above  his  occasional  moods  of  great  de- 
pression more  by  a  desperate  appeal  to  the  Jesus  by 
his  side  than  by  any  recourse  to  the  written  words 
or  teachings  of  that  same  Jesus,  recorded  for  our 
edification,  so. long  ago. 

HUMAN  DEPRAVITY. 

Human  depravity!  Yes,  that  some  men  are  unde- 
niably depraved,  and  all  men  have  some  depraved 
tendencies  in  them;  such  was  my  father's  belief; 
though  I  never  succeeded  in  getting  him  to  under- 
take a  systematic  explanation  of  this  sad  but  unde- 
niable fact.  For  he  felt  that  he  could  not  explain  it. 
But  it  made  him  very  earnest  and  practical  in  his 
attempts  to  save  and  help  men,  and  in  his  preaching 
to  them  of  the  gospel  of  Christ.  And  of  one  thing 
he  was  sure;  that  no  man  can  ever  do  much  toward 
really  saving  men,  either  at  home  or  abroad,  if  sin 
and  wrong  doing  seem  to  him  a  small  matter. 

"But,"  said  some  objectors,  "some  things  which 
you  call  sinful  and  wrong  others  call  right."  To  this 
he  would  simply  reply,  "But  does  that  make  them 
right?"  and  then  would  hasten  on  to  a  more  search- 
ing and  really  vital  question,  "But  how  about  the 
things  which  even  you  admit  to  be  wrong  and  sinful? 
Do  you  struggle  against  these  as  you  should?"  — 
And  thus  would  he  silence  hypocrites  and  quibblers; 
and  bring  a  deeper  conviction  of  sin  to  those  who 
were  honestly  seeking  for  truth.       For  though  some 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CREED.  ']^ 

men  have  dealt  with  sin  too  harshly,  and  others  have 
made  a  sad  failure  in  attempting  to  explain  it,  thus 
much  is  and  always  must  be  true,  that  conviction  of 
sin  is  the  starting  point*  of  the  Christian  life  in  all 
its  purer  and  higher  forms;  and  this  Mr.  Wheeler 
felt  very  keenly,  though  he  clearly  recognized  the 
fact  that  it  need  not  be  at  all  excitable  or  tragic. 

MAN'S  NEED  OF  A  SAVIOUR. 

But  Mr.  Wheeler  oft  reminded  us  that  it  is  not 
enough  for  us  to  simply  realize  that  man  is  sinful 
and  prone  to  wrong.  Many  a  heathen  teacher  of 
ethics  has  done  this,  and  solemnly  advised  men  to 
do  better,  and  still  has  accomplished  almost  nothing; 
for  man,  though  free  in  the  deeper  sense  of  that 
word,  is  practically  so  weak  and  wilful  and  ignorant 
that  mere  ethical  preaching,  with  the  religious  ele- 
ment left  out,  leaves  him  almost  as  much  in  the  dark 
as  ever;  until  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  broth- 
erhood of  man  are  clearly  enough  recognized  to 
make  a  new  man  of  him  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Hence  the  successful  missionary  must  point  out 
to  men  this  Fatherhood  of  God  (as  revealed  in  the 
life  and  teachings  of  Jesus)  and  this  brotherhood  of 
man,  as  revealed  in  Christ's  doctrines,  and  in  the 
church  which  he  came  to  plant.  Just  how  he  does 
this  matters  little,  if  only  he  really  does  it;  for  I 
have  noticed  that  the  followers  of  Jesus  testify  in 
more  ways  than  the  church  as  yet  clearly  recognizes, 
and  that  some  are  evidently  His  followers  whom  we 
are  wont  to  class  as  outsiders.     And  I  know   that 


78  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

this  thought  was  at  times  a  great  comfort  to  my 
father. 

But  nevertheless  the  fact  remains  that  men  need 
to  be  told,  and  often  told,  of  Jesus,  and  of  the  Fa- 
ther whom  He  came  to  show  unto  us  more  clearly; 
and  so  Mr.  Wheeler  was  very  earnest  in  preaching 
"Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified,"  "to  the  Jews  a 
stumbling  block  and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness,  but 
unto  them  which  are  [ready  to  be]  called  the  power 
of  God  and  the  wisdom  of  God"  (I  Cor.  1:23-24,) 
For  even  Christ  did  not  call  every  one,  but  only 
those  who  are  "weary  and  heavy  laden,"  and  "who- 
soever is  willing." 

"But  just  what  was  his  theory  of  the  atonement?" 
asks  some  one.  Well,  as  to  that  I  do  not  know;  for 
the  fact  that  Jesus  saves  men  was  more  to  him  than 
the  explanation  how  —  Yet  on  two  points  he  was  very 
clear;  namely,  that  in  the  work  of  saving  men  Christ 
co-worked  with  God,  and  not  against  Him;  and  sec- 
ondly, that  elaborate  explanations  only  tended  to 
perplex  people,  both  in  the  pulpit  and  in  the  class 
room.  For  the  deepest  things  of  God  are  always 
most  easily  understood,  and  most  easily  seen,  if  so- 
called  explanations  are  not  indulged  too  freely. 

CHRIST  AS  A  FRIEND. 

But  perhaps  one  of  the  sweetest  phases  of  his  mis- 
sionary life  was  his  reliance  on  Jesus  as  a  friend,  and 
a  daily  helper  and  comforter  for  those  who  have  al- 
ready entered  on  the  strait*  but  windmg  way  that 
leadeth  unto  life,  (Matt.  7:14.) 

♦Old  English  for  narrow. 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CREED.  79 

Doubtless  a  clearer,  truer  theology  than  we  now 
have  will  some  day  prove  that  Christ's  mediatorial 
work,  and  his  work  as  friend,  are  but  different 
phases  of  the  very  same  work;  but  at  present  our 
vision  is  so  dim  that  in  order  to  think  clearly  and 
truly  we  are  often  obliged  to  speak  of  them  as  dis- 
tinct, though  springing  from  the  same  great  heart  of 
love.  But  Jesus  is  our  Friend,  and  not  simply  our 
Saviour;  he  not  only  died  for  us,  but  lives  for  us; 
and  the  ripest,  happiest  Christians  are  those  who 
live  nearest  to  him. 

This  truth  a  devoted  missionary  can  generally 
grasp  in  its  fullness  more  easily  than  most  people; 
for  in  studying  so  constantly  the  needs  of  others, 
and  that  in  a  lonely  foreign  land,  he  is  oftener  re- 
minded of  his  own  need;  and  led  to  come  oftener  to 
the  one  who  says,  "Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  labor 
and  are  heavy  laden  and  I  will  give  you  rest;"  and 
who  also  said,  "Lo  1  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world." 

And  so  he  often  came  to  Jesus,  and  bid  others 
come;  and  he  and  his  colleagues  gathered  round 
them  a  body  of  simple  but  earnest  Christians;  whose 
faith  was  lovely  to  see,  though  not  perhaps  quite  as 
well  fortified  as  it  should  have  been  against  that 
honest  credulity  into  which  even  true  faith  some- 
times turns  for  awhile.  For  even  our  Lord  lets  his 
followers  sometimes  stumble  and  fall,  when  they  get 
to  following  him  or  any  one  else  a  little  too  thought- 
lessly and  childishly.  But,  even  when  they  fall, 
they  are  still  his  children;  and  sure  to  rise  sooner 
than    those    who    have    not    loved    him    so    much. 


8o  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Hence  my  heart  is  made  glad  as  I  see  how  closely 
the  Harpoot  churches  are  clinging  to  Christ,  in  the 
times  of  sore  trouble  which  have  come  upon  them 
of  late. 

THOU  SHALT  LOVE   THY  NEIGHBOR. 

•'Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself."  Such 
is  another  article  of  the  Christian  creed,  which  is, 
indeed  a  source  of  strength  and  loveliness  in  every 
truly  Christian  life,  though  not  as  great  a  power  in 
some  lives  as  in  others. 

But,  as  Mr.  Wheeler  understood  and  practiced  it, 
the  test  question  was  not,  How  much  do  you  love 
your  neighbors?  (for  some  he  loved  more  and  some 
less  than  he  loved  himself.)  But,  rather,  How  true 
and  pure  is  your  love?  and  the  Bible  injunction,  sta- 
ted in  plainer  but  less  striking  English,  is  "Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  in  the  same  way  that  thou 
lovest  thyself;"  i.  e.  just  as  truly  and  just  as  purely; 
thus  making  of  Christ's  words  a  really  inspiring  ideal, 
and  not  a  mere  extravagant  impossibility. 

For  to  say  that  we  ought  to  love  our  neighbors 
just  as  truly  and  purely  as  we  love  ourselves  is 
grandly  true;  and  no  man  can  ever  find  his  happy, 
natural  peace  in  life  till  he  does  it.  Just  as  no  man 
ever  finds  perfect  peace  till  he  learns  to  love  his 
worst  enemy,  just  as  truly,  though  not  just  as  much,  as 
he  loves  his  best  friend. 

PRAYER. 

Then,  going  on  but  one  step  farther  in  our  attempt 
to  explain  this  man's  success,  we  come  to  his  belief 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CREED.  8i 

in  prayer.  "Of  course  he  believed  in  prayer,"  says 
some  one;  "all  Christians  do."  But  unfortunately 
all  Christians  do  not.  For  to  some  Christians,  who 
really  believe  in  God,  prayer  is  an  unreal  thing;  and 
they  no  more  expect  any  orood  to  come  of  it  than 
they  would  from  a  letter  telling  the  President  of  the 
United  States  or  the  Queen  of  England  about  their 
private  perplexities  and  sorrows.  But  Mr.  Wheeler 
really  believed  in  it;  and  though  the  philosophy  of 
prayer  may  have  sometimes  puzzled  him  a  little,  as 
it  once  in  a  while  puzzles  us  all,  he  got  so  many  fa- 
vorable answers  to  prayer,  and  so  many  sweet  and 
comforting  refusals,  that  he  learned  more  and  more 
how  sweet  a  thing  it  is  for  man  to  draw  near  to  God. 

And  yet  to  him  prayer  was  seldom,  "Oh  Lord, 
give  me  what  I  want;"  but  rather,  "Give  me  the 
blessings,  whatever  they  may  be,  which  thou  hast 
been  keeping  for  me,  until  such  time  as  I  should  be 
hnngry  enough  to  ask  for  them  in  a  trusting  and 
teachable  spirit."  And  how  many  such  blessings 
there  are,  uncalled  for  in  the  waiting  rooms  of  heaven. 
For  prayer  and  trustfulness  (or  faith  as  it  is  gener- 
ally called)  are  in  their  higher  forms  rare  virtues, 
even  among  those  who  in  a  lower  and  weaker  sense 
are  true  followers  of  Christ.  For  even  very  weak 
faith  makes  us  followers  of  Jesus;  but  only  great 
faith  makes  us  enter  at  all  fully  into  the  joy  of  our 
Lord,  and  into  that  power  which  comes  to  those  who 
dare  to  ask  for  and  accept  the  many  special  blessings 
which  come  only  when  specially  asked  for,  moment 
by  moment. 

(6) 


82  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

The  Future  Life. 

Then  next  there  came  Mr.  Wheeler's  belief  in  the 
future  life;  for  though  we  find  this  belief  in  many- 
lands  and  many  faiths,  it  is  only  among  the  follow- 
ers of  Jesus  that  it  comes  in  as  a  clear,  strong,  in- 
spiring force,  in  which  even  the  humblest  can  take 
comfort;  and  it  is  only  since  Jesus  came  that  men 
have  at  all  generally  learned  to  think  of  heaven  as 
a  home  (John  14:1-3)  a  place  where  friends  will 
meet  again  to  commune  with  one  another  in  sacred 
restfulness  and  love. 

But  Jesus  has  told  us  that  in  our  Father's  house 
are  many  homes;  and  if  it  were  not  so  he  would  have 
told  us;  and  the  more  the  Christian  church  studies 
this  unseen  world  of  which  Jesus  spoke,  the  strong- 
er and  more  universal  grows  the  conviction  that  in 
some  way,  to  us  as  yet  unknown,  this  heavenly 
world  lies  around  us  all  the  time  —  and  not  simply 
in  childhood,  as. Wordsworth  sang  —  or  in  some  dis- 
tant future,  as  many  a  theologian  has  thought. 

And  so  the  missionary  often  thought  and  spoke  of 
heaven  as  a  little  child  would  speak  of  home;  and 
made  men  long  for  home  and  rest, even  when  itseemed 
to  them  that  they  were  too  tired  to  be  good.  And 
yet  is  not  a  longing  for  home  a  longing  to  be  good? 
Yes,  only  in  a  less  complete  form;  and  when  the 
prodigal  begins  to  long  for  home,  then  is  his  heart 
turning  toward  God  and  the  right;  although  he  may 
not  know  it  as  yet,  and  may  be  an  exceedingly  weak 
and  ignorant  follower  at  first. 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CREED.  83 

Future  Punishment. 

But  our  experiences  of  this  life,  and  all  the  deeper 
intuitions  of  the  soul,  point  to  yet  another  sad  truth 
of  which  the  missionary  must  speak,  and  speak 
plainly,  if  he  is  to  be  a  true  messenger  of  helpful- 
ness, and  make  men  see  sin  in  all  its  real  enormity; 
—  and  that  is  the  doctrine  of  punishment,  both  past, 
present  and  future. 

"But  will  fear  make  men  good?"  No,  it  will  not. 
But  fear  will  inake  men  stop  and  consider:  and  thus 
give  the  sweet  influences  of  love  a  chance  to  find 
entrance  into  many  a  heart  which  would  otherwise 
have  remained  closed. 

And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  the  missionary  spoke 
of  sin  and  punishment,  side  by  side,  and  with  great 
definiteness.  For  he  knew  that  many  a  man  attributes 
to  bad  luck  \\\^  past  evils  that  have  grown  out  of  his 
own  wrong-doing;  and  so  hopes  that, by  some  perverse 
luck,  he  will  escape  {xom  future  punishment  as  well, 
however  blindly  or  recklessly  selfish  he  may  be. 
To  such  as  these  the  missionary  spoke  of  punish- 
ment very  plainly;  and  not  only  of  present  punish- 
ment, but  also  of  future  punishment,  beyond  the 
grave.  For  strange  to  say  many  a  man,  who  admits 
that  sin  has  brought  a  curse  on  his  life  thus  far,  does 
nevertheless  hope  that,  by  some  strange  magic, 
death  is  going  to  set  him  free  from  it  all;  —  while 
Mr.  Wheeler  went  so  far  as  to  claim  that  even 
heaven  will  not  suddenly  blot  out  all  the  scars  and 
aches  of  sin,  but  simply  give  men  perfect  peace  of 
mind,  and  then  put  before  them  higher  and  higher 


84  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

reaches  of  Christian  happiness,  to  be  gradually  at- 
tained by  heavenly  growth. 

"But  did  he  believe  that  the  future  punishment  of 
sin  would  in  any  or  all  cases  be  endless?"  I  think 
he  did;  as  a  logical  inference  from  some  parts  of  his 
creed;  and  as  an  inference  from  some  Bible  verses, 
which  he  saw  not  how  to  explain  in  any  other  way. 

But,  nevertheless,  on  one  point  he  was  explicit; 
namely  that  we  have  no  right  to  make  this  doctrine 
of  endless  future  punishment  a  test  of  a  man's  fitness 
for  foreign  missionary  work;  for,  said  he,  the  argu- 
ments on  which  it  rests,  and  the  verses  which  seem 
to  teach  it,  though  to  me  sufficient,  are  not  equally 
clear  to  one  who  feels  that  the  word  eternal  has  been 
misunderstood.  And  when  certain  prominent  ad- 
vocates of  future  probation  were  mentioned,  he  was 
inclined  to  feel  that  the  trouble  with  most  of  them 
was  too  little  Christian  consecration;  or  else  a  ten- 
dency to  dwell  too  much  on  unhelpful  and  perplex- 
ing matters  of  mere  theology  and  speculation,  rather 
than  acceptance  or  non-acceptance  of  the  doctrine 
in  question. — And  wherever  new  theology  men  have 
failed,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  I  think  it  will  gen- 
erally be  found  that  a  lack  of  practical  wisdom  and 
insight  has  always  been  a  leading  cause  of  their  fail- 
ure, whatever  we  may  think  of  their  theology. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

THE  MISSIONARY'S  CHARACTER. 


But  what  sort  of  a  man  should  a  missionary  be? 
This  question  we  cannot,  of  course,  answer  here  at 
at  all  fully,  for  many  different  kinds  of  workers  are 
needed  on  the  foreign  field,  even  as  they  are  at 
home.  And  yet  a  brief  study  of  Mr.  Wheeler's 
character  will  surely  throw  some  important  light  on 
the  problem;  and  will  also  help  us  in  better  under- 
standing the  work  he  did,  and  how  he  did  it. 

CLEARNESS   OF    PERCEPTION;  AND    HOW    TO    IN- 
CREASE IT. 

We  notice  then,  first  of  all,  that  Mr.  Wheeler  had 
great  clearness  of  perception;  and  tried  not  to  med- 
dle with  matters  which  he  could  not  see  clearly. 
And  to  our  readers  who  can  see  clearly  in  matters 
pertaining  to  farming,  or  botany,  or  dress-making, 
or  home  missions,  but  fail  to  see  into  foreign  mis- 
sionary problems  as  clearly,  he  would  have  said, 
"By  all  means  stay  at  home,  and  do  not  go  as  for- 
eign missionaries."  For  well  do  we  remember  often 
hearing  him  say  that  it  is  far  better  that  a  man 
should  be  a  first-class  carpenter,  or  teacher,  or  doc- 
tor, than  a  second-class  minister  or   missionary;  for 

he  will  do  more  good;  and  enjoy  life  better. 

85 


86  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

But  how  did  he  cultivate,  or  rather  develop,  this 
power  to  see  things  clearly?  —  Of  course  it  was 
in  part  inherited.  But  it  was  evident  that  he  had 
greatly  increased  it  by  a  careful  adherence  to  the 
following  two  rules: 

First:    Be  sure  you  are  ri^ht;  then  ^o  ahead. 
Second:    Don't  ^o  ahead,  till  you  are  sure. 

True,  these  rules  did  not  make  him  infallible;  for 
like  the  rest  of  us  he  was 'human,  and  sometimes 
forgot  to  live  up  to  them.  But  he  did  live  up  to 
them  often  enough,  both  in  great  matters  and  in 
seemingly  small  ones,  to  make  a  marked  difference 
in  his  power  of  grasping  a  subject,  and  really  over- 
coming a  difificulty,  and  doing  it  for  the  most  part 
wisely.  For  though  I  have  seen  a  great  many  peo- 
ple who  believed  in  "Push,"  or  "Go-aheadativeness," 
just  as  much  as  he  did,  I  have  seen  few  who  as  per- 
sistenlly  and  watchfully  applied  his  second  rule, 
"Not  to  go  ahead,  till  you  are  sure."  And  what  was 
the  result?  The  result  was  that  they  were  just  as 
energetic,  when  in  the  wrong  as  when  in  the  right; 
and  so  kept  tearing  down  the  very  good  that  they 
and  others  had  built  up. 

His  second  rule,  "Don't  go  ahead  till  you  are 
sure,"  also  helped  to  keep  him  out  of  the  ruts;  for 
in  a  quiet,  thoughtless  way*  each  day's  plans  had  to 
undergo  a  special  revision,  before  they  were  put  in 

*The  mind's  best  work  is  often  done  most  thoughtlessly;  even  as  an  artist 
often  sees  what  is  true  and  beautiful,  and  makes  it  his  own,  and  yet  cannot 
explain  it,  or  even  describe  it  till  long  after.  For  the  seeing  faculty  and  the 
naming  (or  thinking)  faculty  of  the  mind  are  not  at  all  coextensive. 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CHARACTER.  87 

practice;  so  that  he  kept  making  little  improvements 
and  corrections,  which  in  the  long  run,  made  a  vast 
difference  in  the  largeness  and  trueness  of  his  re- 
sults. 

But  still  another  way  in  which  his  clearness  of  per- 
ception showed  itself  was  in  a  marked  absence,  at 
most  times,  of  that  morbid  over-thoughtfulness,  so 
common  among  good  men,  which  makes  them  worry 
themselves  and  others  with  a  host  of  rules  and  bur- 
dens, which  they  suppose  to  be  "duties,"  but  without 
any  sufficient  reason.  All  of  these  Mr.  Wheeler ^^/z- 
erally  brushed  aside  with  the  simple  but  wise  remark, 
That  the  heavier  and  more  perplexing  burdens  of 
life  and  thought  are  God's  burdens  and  not  ours; 
and  we  do  wrong  in  taking  them  on  ourselves,  how- 
ever well-meaning  we  may  be  in  doing  it.  And  that, 
when  God  wishes  us  to  take  up  a  burden,  he  always 
shows  us  clearly  how  to  begin,  and  gives  us  the  neces- 
sary strength  and  courage  for  the  task. 

Here  also  we  should  like  to  notice  one  curious  re- 
sult of  Mr.  Wheeler's  clear  perceptionsin  mostthings: 
he  was  a  man  who  often  had  to  stand  painfully  alone, 
for  a  while;  for  he  kept  getting  ahead  of  others. 
And  yet  the  very  people  who  at  first  disagreed  with 
him  would  often  come  to  agree  with  him,  in  the  main, 
after  a  while.  For  a  truth  once  clearly  pointed  out 
often  convinces  at  last  the  very  ones  who  at  first  scout 
it  as  untrue. 

DEFINITENESS  OF  PURPOSE. 

Then  next  came  definitenessof  purpose  and  energy; 
both  of  them  greatly  intensified  by  the  clearness  of 


88  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

perception  and  carefulness  to  be  right  of  which  we 
have  spoken.  But  these  traits  are  also  found  in  many 
men  whose  perceptions  of  truth  and  duty  are  far 
from  clear.  Hence  we  must  look  for  a  safety  valve 
elsewhere. 

PRACTICALNESS:    AND  HOW  TO  KEEP  IT. 

We  shall  find  it,  I  think,  in  the  fact  that  Mr,  Wheeler 
was,  all  through  his  life,  in  such  constant  and 
healthy  contact  with  others;  and  whenever  a  mission- 
ary, or  pastor,  or  other  reformer  finds  himself  in  dan- 
ger of  becoming  dreamy  and  unpractical  or  morbid, 
he  should  make  haste  to  put  himself  in  closer  con- 
tact with  the  practical  every  day  life  of  men  around 
him,  and  this  danger  will  be  greatly  lessened. 

WISDOM  AND   HOW  TO  GET  IT. 

But  while  a  vague  indefiniteness  of  purpose,  either 
in  the  form  of  heaviness  or  dreaminess,  is  something 
a  missionary  should  carefully  guard  against,  we 
should  remember  that  he  also  needs  that  still  higher 
gift  which  we  ordinarily  call  wisdom;  and  that  this 
is  something  more  complex  and  many-sided  than 
common,  every  day  practicalness;  though  such  prac- 
ticalness is  certainly  an  important  element  in  it. 

But  we  never  need  despair  of  attaining  to  such 
wisdom;  for  he  whose  life  is  full  of  watchfulness 
and  prayer,  willing  to  go  when  duty  calls,  but  careful 
never  to  go  uncalled,  is  sure  to  grow  in  wisdom  as 
the  days  go  by.  For  to  him  that  hath  shall  be  given, 
yet  more  abundantly.     Such  is  God's  sweet  law  of 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CHARACTER.  89 

recompense  and  growth. —  And  yet  it  is  curious  to 
see  how,  in  even  so  beautiful  a  life  as  Dr.  Wheeler's, 
the  wisdom  comes  to  men  more  abundantly  along 
some  lines  than  along  others,  according  to  the  lines 
along  which  they  do  most  watching  and  praying. 

A  PASSIONATE  LONGING  TO  DO  RIGHT. 

Here  too  comes  in  his  longing  to  do  right;  for  it 
was  very  marked,  though  for  the  most  part  free  from 
that  morbid  over  thoughtfulness,  of  which  we  have 
already  spoken.     (Page  87.) 

But  why  speak  here  of  so  simple  and  obvious  a 
matter  as  longing  to  do  right?  Simply  because  I 
believe  that  many  good  people  will  confess  on  in- 
quiry that  at  times  they  are  strongly  tempted  to  say, 
•*Oh,  it  matters  not,  if  I  do  wrong  in  minor  matters." 
But  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  does  make  a  fearful  differ- 
ence, even  after  the  sin  has  been  confessed  and  re- 
pented of.  Hence  I  believe  it  will  do  us  good  to 
remember  that  this  man  whom  we  so  love  and  honor 
felt  deeply  the  need  of  always  resisting  quickly  and 
firmly  this  subtle  temptation  of  which  we  have 
spoken.  , 

And  so  eager  was  he  to  do  right,  that  he  could 
more  easily  than  most  men  be  nobly  inconsistent,  by 
living  above  his  creed  and  above  his  theories;  when 
at  some  perplexing  point  thesehappened  to  be  faulty. 
For  of  inconsistency  there  are  two  sorts:  one,  where 
we  live  above  our  honest  beliefs,  this  is  a  virtue;  and 
the  other,  where  we  live  belozv  them;  which  certainly 
is  a  vice;  for  though  both  indicate  a  slip  somewhere, 
in  one  case  the  slip  was  made  yesterday,  and  is  be- 


go  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

ing  partially  corrected  today;  while  in  the  other  the 
truth  was  seen  and  accepted  yesterday,  and  is  being 
only  lost  sight  of  and  ignored  today. 

COURAGE. 

But  he  was  also  a  man  of  rare  courage;  and  hard 
indeed  would  it  be  to  think  of  a  really  successful  mis- 
sionary in  whom  this  element  of  character  was  not 
marked.  And  yet  the  courage  of  which  we  speak  is 
not  simpy  courage  in  the  face  of  physical  danger, 
that  beautiful  courage  which  even  the  timidest  may 
have  in  moments  and  days  and  years  of  suffering, 
though  this  our  missionary  had.  But,  that  higher, 
rarer  courage  in  resisting  the  unjust  demands  of  oth- 
ers, which  even  among  missionaries  is  sometimes 
lacking,  or,  rather,  deficient. 

And  that  such  lack  of  moral  courage  seriously  les- 
sens a  missionary's  usefulness,  I  need  not  prove  by 
argument;  for  most  of  those  who  are  deficient  in 
courage  admit  that  it  lessens  their  usefulness,  when 
they  give  way  to  cowardice.  "Why  then  do  they 
ever  yield?"  This  question  I  will  answer  by  asking 
another.  Why  does  an  ill  fed  man  grow  faint  and 
weak?  Simply  because  he  cannot  help  it.  So  too 
with  courage;  —  and  the  secret  of  Mr.  Wheeler's 
courage  was  the  constancy  with  which,  in  a  simple, 
informal  way,  he  communed  with  God  and  heaven, 
thus  gaining  the  needed  strength.  And  whenever 
any  one  comes  nearer  to  God  "in  spirit  and  in  truth," 
I  have  always  noticed  that  his  courage  slowly  in- 
creases, and  becomes  an  all  pervading  and  uplifting, 
though  quiet  force  —  all  through  his  daily  life.      Thus 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CHARACTER.  91 

was  it  of  the  one  of  whom  we  write;  thus  has  it  been 
with  many  another  of  God's  heroes;  though  even 
they  were  weak  as  other  men,  when  they  forgot  this 
higher  life,  under  the  cloud  of  some  passing  preju- 
dice or  guess, 

HUMILITY,  NORMAL  AND  ABNORMAL. 

Then,  curiously  contrasted  to  courage,  comes  an- 
other trait,  namely,  humility;  and  along  with  that 
its  complementary  trait  of  self-confidence.  And 
how  did  the  humility  show  itself?  It  showed  itself, 
not  in  being  willing  to  be  tyrannized  over,  when  re- 
sistance would  be  of  some  avail;  for  this  is  only 
weakness.  But  in  being  willing  to  learn  from  any- 
body, even  his  most  severe  and  unfriendly  critics; 
and,  secondly,  in  being  willing  to  do  even  the  hum- 
blest and  most  seemingly,  menial  service,  for  others' 
good,  vviien  love  pointed  him  out  as  the  one  best  fit- 
ted to  do  it;  or  providential  leadings  called  for  it, 
even  as  they  called  so  loudly  to  the  Levite  and  the 
Good  Samaritan,  long  ago. 

For  littleness  is  not  a  virtue,  though  often  mis- 
taken for  one;  but  teachableness  and  servefulness 
are;  and  in  these  it  is  that  true  humility  shows  itself, 
often  most  clearly  in  the  strongest  and  most  self-re- 
liant natures. 

But  some  critics  will  tell  us  that  of  all  men  Mr. 
Wheeler  was  one  of  the  least  teachable.  And  why? 
Simply  because  he  would  not  accept  the  mere  un- 
proved assertions  of  any  man,  when  contradicted  by 
his  own  more  extensive  studies  of  life  and  of  human 


Q2  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

nature.  For  to  him  the  traditions  and  theories  of 
the  elders  were  sacred  only  so  far  as  he  found  them 
helpful  in  doing  the  Lord's  work.  But  his  humility 
showed  itself  in  this,  that  when  any  man  spoke  from 
actual  knowledge,  and  not  mere  theory,  of  some 
matter  which  he  really  understood,  Mr.  Wheeler 
was  one  of  the  quickest  and  heartiest  to  recognize 
the  fact,  and  profit  by  what  he  taught.  Surely  this 
is  teachableness.  And  this  is  a  trait  which  every 
missionary  needs. 

SELF-CONFIDENCE  AND  PERPLEXITY. 

Then  came  self-confidence, —  a  trait  often  wanting 
in  humble  people;  but  one  without  which  humility 
is  sure  to  be  morbid  and  misdirected.  For  the 
man  who  cannot  rely  on  himself,  in  the  things  he 
does  see  clearly,  will  soon  be  a  blind  follower  of  the 
blind.  For  the  blindest  would-be  leaders  are  always 
most  persistent  and  most  eager  to  get  followers,  and 
assert  their  right  to  lead. 

Yet  we  should  remember  that  Mr.  Wheeler's  self- 
confidence  was  strong,  for  the  most  part,  only  when 
he  knew  that  he  was  Nearer  Right  at  Some  Vital 
Point  than  those  who  were  opposed  to  him.  For  in 
relatively  minor  matters  those  who  disagreed  with 
him  were  doubtless  often  nearer  right  than  he;  and 
it  was  pleasant  to  see  how  often  he  met  them  half 
way.  But  this  habit  of  always  trying  to  see  the 
Main  Point,  the  Vital  Point  first,  before  he  studied 
any  other,  was  a  great  help  to  him,  all  through  his 
missionary  life.  For  curiously  enough  our  greatest  per- 
plexities are  generally  about  non-essentials :  about  mat- 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CHARACTER.  93 

ters  which  Need  Not  and  Should  Not  be  decided 
today;  and  when  the  missionary  or  student  or  law- 
yer or  business  man  consents  to  leave  these  fascinat- 
ing non-essentials  one  side,  he  finds  even  the  most 
perplexing  problems  greatly  simplified  and  cleared. 

PERSEVERANCE. 

That  no  missionary  can  ever  be  a  success,  if  he 
lacks  perseverance,  need  not  be  said;  nor  that  per- 
severance will  make  one  industrious.  But  it  is  worth 
our  while  to  inquire  how  Mr.  Wheeler  managed  to 
get  so  much  of  this  important  virtue. 

We  find  the  explanation  in  two  things:  firstly^ 
that  informal  but  very  marked  nearness  to  God,  of 
which  we  have  spoken  under  Courage;  and,  second- 
ly, his  habit  of  not  going  ahead  till  he  was  sure  of 
his  ground.  For  these  two  traits  would  be  pretty 
apt  to  make  even  a  very  humble  and  self-distrusting 
man  persevering  and  self-reliant.  For  lives  like  his 
are  always  full  of  paradoxes;  which  to  some  minds 
seem  like  contradictions. 

HOPEFULNESS;  AND  HOW  TO  RENEW  IT. 

Then  came  his  hopefulness;  for  most  of  the  time 
he  was  a  very  hopeful  man.  And  fortunate  it  is  that 
he  was;  for  courage  alone  is  never  enough;  and 
many  a  brave  true  heart  has  been  completely  crushed 
for  lack  of  hope.  For  not  only  must  we  be  willing 
to  face  danger  and  pain;  but  we  must  also  be  able 
to  Rise  Above  Them;  and  mere  resignation,  unac- 
companied by  hope,  is  at  best  but  a  pitiable  half- 
virtue;  while  courage,  without  a  well  grounded  hope- 
fulness, is  but  rashness. 


94  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

What  then  was  the  secret  of  this  man's  hopeful- 
ness? It  was  in  large  part  that  trust  in  God  of 
which  we  have  spoken.  But  also  a  certain  healthy 
littleness,  in  times  of  great  darkness,  which  made 
turn  aside  to  little  tasks  and  little  joys,  when  the 
great  ones  grew  dim;  though  he  did  not  close,  for  a 
single  moment,  his  soul's  eyes  to  the  larger  tasks 
which  he  wisely  left  for  a  while  undone,  and  seemed 
to  have  wholly  forgotten.  In  this  heroic  willingness 
to  almost  forget  at  times  the  things  he  most  loved, 
lay  a  wonderful  source  of  power  and  recuperation; 
and  happy  indeed  is  the  man  who  at  such  times  can 
trust  God  greatly  and  wisely  enough,  to  leave  it  all 
to  Him,  and  turn  contentedly  to  humbler  duties,  un- 
til the  light  comes  back  again. 

FULLNESS  OF  LOVE. 

But  our  Father  in  Heaven  is  a  God  of  Love;  and 
the  nearer  we  come  to  him  the  surer  we  are  to  be  like 
him,  and  to  have  our  hearts  ever  full  of  love.  For 
he  who  goes  on  a  mission  without  a  loving  heart,  will 
find  in  it  no  romance;  the  romance  coming  only  to 
those  whose  eyes  are  daily  opened  and  purified  by 
love.  Hence  was  it  that  he  of  whom  we  write  found 
in  the  work  so  much  of  sweetness  and  of  gladness. 
For  he  loved  the  people  for  whom  he  worked;  yes 
even  when  he  sometimes  rebuked  them  sharply;  and 
love  it  was  that  showed  him  just  what  rebuke  to  give 
and  how  much  to  give.  For  he  did  know  how  to  stop; 
and  how  to  help  the  very  men  who  thought  him  an 
enemy,  because  of  the  sharpness  of  some  needed 
rebuke. 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CHARACTER.  95 

So  that  a  friend  once  said  to  him,  "Mr.  Wheeler, 
I  can  cut  men  up  as  well  as  you  can;  but  I  don't 
succeed  in  putting  them  together  as  well.  Pray 
what  makes  the  difference?"  What  answer  my 
father  gave  I  do  not  know;  but  if  I  were  to  answer 
for  him,  judging  by  my  father's  life,  I  should  say 

that  probably  Mr. did  not  have  quite  enough 

respect  for  the  inner,  choked  up  manhood  of  the 
men  he  cut  to  pieces,  and  this  it  was  which  made  it 
hard  for  him  to  put  them  together  again.  For  my 
father's  genuine  respect  for  the  inner,  potential  man- 
hood of  even  fallen  men  was  wonderful  to  see;  even 
when  he  most  heartily  despised  their  conduct,  and 
felt  obliged  to  say  so. —  Thus  was  it  that  he  won 
them. 

A  LOVE  THAT  MAKES  MEN  PATIENT. 

Of  another  characteristic  of  his  love  this  is  also 
the  best  place  to  speak;  namely  that  it  was  not  an 
ideal,  abstract  love  for  man  in  general,  or  for  the 
heathen,  or  for  men  and  women  whom  he  had  never 
seen;  but  rather  a  strong,  though  silent  love  for  in- 
dividuals, old  and  young,  lovely  and  unlovely,  just 
as  he  found  them  round  about  him  day  by  day. 
True  there  were  some  he  could  not  help  much;  and 
some  he  could  not  understand;  but  in  his  quiet,  far- 
seeing  way,  he  nevertheless  tried  to  help  them  oc- 
casionally, or  at  least  not  to  misjudge  them,  and 
often  succeeded. 

How  different  is  such  a  love  from  the  sentimental 
shallowness  of  a  certain  lady  who  wanted  ever  so 
much    to  go    as   a  missionary   but   "just   hated   her 


96  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

neighbors,  and  knew  she  couldn't  help  any  of  them." 
And  Dr.  Wheeler's  message  to  you  and  me  would 
be:  "If  ever  you  find  the  slightest  hint  of  such  a 
feeling  in  your  heart,  be  sure  and  stay  right  here  at 
home,  in  cruel  'hateful'  America,  and  learn  to  love 
your  neighbors  here,  even  those  who  love  you  least, 
and  then,  and  not  till  then,  should  you  think  of  try- 
ing to  teach  the  heathen  of  Jesus  and  his  love." 

FINDING  THE    BRIGHT  SIDE;  AND 
SPEAKING  OF   IT. 

Nor  can  I  go  on  till  one  other  trait  has  found 
mention: — He  loved  to  praise  people. 

But  what  a  rare  trait  this  is;  and  how  often  are  we 
foolishly  afraid  to  praise  others,  even  when  we  ad- 
mire them  most.  But  this  folly  Mr.  Wheeler  had 
somehow  outgrown;  though  I  know  not  who  it  was 
that  was  entitled  to  the  credit  for  this  glad  change, 
or  rather  for  this  strange  survival  of  one  of  the  love- 
liest traits  of  childhood.  But  however  that  may  be, 
the  trait  was  there;  and  many  a  time  did  it  come  in 
to  cheer  and  help  some  weary  one  in  the  hard  and 
lonely  battle  to  be  good. 

And  only  one  exception  do  I  know  to  this  rule  of 
his  of  freely  praising  others,  when  they  deserved  it, 
and  that  was  this:  He  gave  the  praise  only  to  those 
who  were  in  need  of  encouragement;  but  carefully 
postponed  it  when  there  was  danger  of  its  breeding 
vanity,  as  there  sometimes  is.  But  his  genius  for 
helpfulness  showed  itself  in  this,  that  he  so  often 
caught  people,  both  old  and  young,  when  they  did 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CHARACTER.  97 

need  encouragement,  and  then  gave  his  praise    so 
heartily. 

FORGETTING  ONE'S  SELF. 

And,  lastly,  his  love  was  an  unselfish  love;  by  which 
we  mean,  not  a  self-neglecting  love,  (though  such  it 
sometimes  was)  but  a  self-forgetting  love.  And 
happy  is  the  man  who  trusts  in  God  enough  to  be 
willing  and  able  to  forget  himself  in  the  intensity  of 
his  devotion  to  God,  and  to  his  fellow  men.  And 
how  sadly  a  really  Christian  life,  even  on  mission  soil, 
can  be  marred  and  crippled  and  disappointed,  if  al- 
most unconsciously,  and  yet  really,  it  lets  a  few  grains 
of  selfishness  creep  into  its  daily  life;  a  little  willing- 
ness to  step  on  others,  because  we  do  not  like  them, 
or  because  they  interfere  with  our  plans  and  our  com- 
fort. But  even  selfishness  can  be  cured,  when  a  con- 
secrated heart  wakes  up  to  confess  its  need,  and  fight 
the  battle  prayerfully  and  often;  and  so  no  one  need 
be  discouraged. 

A  LONGING  TO  SAVE  SOULS. 

But  still  another  trait  stands  out  clear  and  strong 
when  we  try  to  fully  understand  and  explain  this  life; 
namely,  a  passionate  longing  to  save  souls.  "But 
do  not  all  true  Christians  have  this?"  —  No,  they  do 
not.  For  there  are  men  just  as  good  as  Dr.  Wheeler, 
whose  chief  conscious  ambition  in  life  is  simply  to  be 
successful  farmers;  and  others  whose  chief  conscious 
ambition  is  to  be  successful  business  men;  and  still 
others  whose  uppermost  longing  is  to  be  artists;  and 
others,  almost  as  good,  who  seem  to  have  no  special 

(7) 


98  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

ambition  in  life,  and  are  easily  content  with  whatever 
kind  of  work  falls  to  their  lot. 

Now  against  such  men  as  these  we  have  not  one 
single  word  to  say;  for  we  know  that  down  in  their 
heart  ot  hearts  they  often  love  men  just  as  truly  as 
Mr.  Wheeler  did;  and  use  their  money,  their  farms 
and  their  art  just  as  truly  for  the  good  of  others  as 
he  did  his  tongue  and  pen.  But  we  would  strongly 
advise  such  men  and  women  not  to  go  out  as  mis- 
sionaries; for  there  is  not  one  chance  in  ten  of  their 
succeeding.  And  it  is  a  sad  waste  of  human  life 
and  money  to  put  a  born  farmer  or  artist  in  a  place 
where  what  is  really  needed  is  an  enthusiastic  teach- 
er and  leader  and  adviser  of  men. 

And  as  for  the  men  who  have  no  special  tastes, 
and  like  one  kind  of  work  almost  as  well  as  another, 
they  certainly  are  a  helpful  element  in  society  at 
large;  but  they  are  certainly  not  cut  out  for  pioneers 
and  leaders;  and  make  very  poor  missionaries. 

But,  says  an  objector,  "did  not  Mr.  Wheeler  go 
into  money-raising  and  house-building  and  ditch- 
digging  just  as  vigorously  as  into  anything  else?" 
Yes,  as  vigorously,  but  not  as  enthusiastically;  for 
it  was  only  because  the  work  must  be  done,  and  he 
saw  no  one  else  to  do  it,  that  he  threw  himself  into 
it  so  lovingly,  though  often  reluctantly;  though  iri 
small  doses  such  work  was  undoubtedly  a  real  rest 
to  him,  after  the  more  intense  though  more  congen- 
ial work  of  directly  edifying  men. 

"But  should  not  a  missionary  love  art  and  beau- 
ty?"    Yes;  and  many  a  time  have  we  known  mis- 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CHARACTER.  99 

sionaries  to  seek  in  poetic  description,  in  painting, 
in  instrumental  music,  in  botany,  in  geology,  and  in 
silent  communion  with  nature,  the  rest  for  weary 
nerves  and  troubled  thoughts  which  they  so  greatly 
need  at  times.  But  in  all  these  cases,  art  was  the 
secondary  thing;  and  not  in  any  way  the  ruling  pas- 
sion of  the  life.  For  the  moulding  of  character  was 
to  them  a  far  more  absorbing  and  inspiring  purpose; 
and  one  in  which  they  displayed  far  more  of  skill 
and  power. 

NEED   OF    BUSINESS   ABILITY;  AND   STRICTER 
BUSINESS  SUPERVISION. 

And,yet  that  a  missionary  requires  business  ability, 
in  addition  to  his  zeal  for  winning  souls,  is  a  point 
that  no  one  will  dispute;  though  we  seriously  doubt 
whether  the  importance  of  such  ability  has  as  yet 
been  properly  recognized.  And  from  lack  of  such 
ability  results  a  great  deal  of  loss.  For  though  money 
invested  in  foreign  missions  brings  in  each  year  a 
richer  and  richer  harvest  of  results,  and  is  in  the  main 
wisely  invested,  yet  any  one  well  acquainted  with  its 
inner  workings,  will  admit  that  there  is  waste  at  some 
points. 

That  such  waste  has  often  been  inevitable,  Mr. 
Wheeler  admitted.  But  he  claimed  that  more  of  it 
might  be  prevented;  his  remedy  for  a  large  part  of 
it  being  the  fuller  recognition  of  the  importance  of 
business  ability  as  an  element  in  the  selection  of  mis- 
sionaries; and,  secondly,  more  prompt  restraining  of 
workers  already  on  the  ground  who  displayed  a 
marked  lack  of  such  ability.       For  his  wrath  at  the 


loo  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

unbusinesslike  and  shortsighted  way  in  which  some 
good  men  would  spend  the  churches'  money,  was  at 
times  exceeding  hot;  and  he  scouted  the  idea  that 
because  we  are  Congregationalists,  and  all  "good  and 
consecrated  men,"  therefore  we  ought  to  be  left  to 
do  about  as  we  please  with  the  Lord's  money. 

"But  are  not  missionaries  restrained  from  using 
money  unwisely?"  Of  course  they  are;  but  not  suf- 
ficiently. —  Hence  Mr.  Wheeler  felt  strongly  that  mis- 
sionaries who  were  found  lacking  in  the  ability  to 
manage  money  matters  wisely  should  be  promptly 
recalled. 

NEED  OF  TRAVELING  SECRETARIES.^ 

But  let  me  venture  to  suggest  another  remedy, 
less  drastic,  though  more  novel;  namely,  the  ap- 
pointment of  two  more  secretaries  for  our  Board; 
and  then  that  the  five  secretaries  be  located  as  fol- 
lows: One  as  secretary  for  China  and  Japan;  one 
as  secretary  for  India  and  Ceylon;  one  as  secretary 
for  Turkey,  and  only  two  at  Boston;  the  first  three  to 
live  abroad,  and  not  at  Boston;  and  I  believe  that 
within  three  years  there  would  be  enough  saving  of 
what  are  now  inevitable  wastes  to  much  more  than 
compensate  for  all  added  expense;  and  that  inside 
of  fifteen  years  the  amount  of  work  accomplished 
with  a  given  outlay  of  men  and  money  could  be 
very  nearly  doubled. 

For  pray,  how  could  Gen.  Grant  have  succeeded 
if  he  had  tried  to  manage  his  campaign  in  detail 
when  seven  thousand  miles  away  from  the  scene  of 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CHARACTER.  loi 

action?  And  yet  that  is  just  what  the  Board  is 
often  compelled  to  do  today. 

But  says- some  one,  "We  are  not  Methodists;  we 
do  not  want  a  lot  of  bishops."  Neither  do  I.  But 
I  once  knew  a  man  named  N.  G.  Clark,  and,  taking 
him  as  a  type,  I  simply  ask,  do  you  pretend  that 
the  missions  of  the  American  Board  would  have 
been  more  successful  without  his  advising  and  res- 
training and  encouraging  hand  at  the  helm?  Ah 
no;  and  the  most  successful  missionaries  of  the 
Board  with  almost  one  voice  would  cry  out,  No! 
And  yet  all  we  claim  is  that  he  could  have  done  his 
grand  work  far  better  had  he  been  on  the  ground, 
and  not  worked  at  such  a  fearful  disadvantage  of 
distance. 

And  furthermore,  as  I  look  out  over  this  broad 
land,  I  find  right  in  the  bosom  of  the  Congregation- 
al church  a  body  of  "Bishops"  (state  superinten- 
dents and  secretaries  so-called)  who,  with  but  few 
exceptions,  are  wonderfully  successful  in  advising 
the  churches  and  pastors,  to  whom  financial  aid  is 
given  from  outside.  And  yet  these  men  are  Con- 
gregationalists,  and  this  is  a  free  country  and  a  re- 
public! What  fearful  inconsistency!  And  yet  it  is 
history;  and  it  is  right  it  should  be  so.  Only  the 
question  is,  When  will  our  foreign  missionary  socie- 
ties go  and  do  likewise,  and  profit  thereby? 

But  says  someone,  "The  missionaries  are  them- 
selves superintendents.  Why  have  another  superin- 
tendent over  them?"  To  which  we  simply  reply. 
You  already  have  three  superintendents  at  Boston 
and  all  we  claim  is  that  five  could  do  the  work  still 


102  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

better,  provided  three  of  them  were  located  abroad. 
And,  secondly,  the  fact  that  an  army  has  plenty  of 
lieutenants  and  generals  does  not  lessen,  but  rather  in- 
creases the  need  of  a  leader  in  chief  for  all  within  a 
certain  radius;  and  however  many  foremen  a  work- 
shop may  have,  a  general  superintendent  is  still 
necessary. 

And  we  should  also  remember  that  missionaries 
are  human,  like  all  the  rest  of  us,  and  are  sometimes 
sorely  tempted  to  settle  down  and  do  things  on  a 
small  scale,  simply  because  it  is  easier;  and  at  such 
times  the  presence,  near  at  hand,  of  some  more  ex- 
perienced adviser  is  a  great  comfort  and  blessing. 
For  that  which  he  has  learned  from  his  elders,  and 
from  longer  experience,  he  can  pass  on;  and  so  the 
world  grows  wiser  and  stronger,  as  each  new  genera- 
tion of  missionaries  is  brought  into  closer  and  more 
living  contact  with  the  generations  that  are  gone  by. 

But  says  another  objector,  "The  annual  meeting 
of  each  mission  is  the  best  medium  for  settling  all 
disputed  or  perplexing  points  of  policy."  To  which 
we  simply  reply  that,  instead  of  being  the  best  place, 
it  is  one  of  the  worst  places  in  which  to  settle  many 
of  the  more  delicate  and  yet  extremely  vital  points 
of  uncertainty  and  misunderstanding;  for  such  ques- 
tions can  only  be  settled  in  private,  and  where  one 
party  looks  upon  the  other  as  a  recognized  official 
superior,  and  not  simply  as  the  representative  of  an 
annual  meeting  "majority."  which  experience  shows 
can  often  be  tipped  the  other  way  next  year. 

And  furthermore,  many  of  the  points  where  young 
missionaries    most    need    advice,    and    most    crave 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CHARACTER.  103 

skilled  leadership,  are  points  of  detail,  and  questions 
of  method,  with  which  an  annual  meeting  has  little 
to  do  —  and  which  even  a  superintendent  would  not 
find  out  without  a  little  friendly,  but  searching  in- 
quiry. 

Thus  have  we  ventured  to  suggest  a  remedy  for 
an  evil  over  which  we  know  that  Dr.  Wheeler's 
heart  often  ached  sadly.  Vaster  than  the  one  which 
he  proposed,  but  far  less  drastic;  though  of  course 
his  remedy  will  also  have  to  be  used  at  times,  and 
doubtless  has  been  often  used.  And  were  my 
father  here  today,  on  these  western  prairies,  I  be- 
lieve he  would  give  a  startled  but  hearty  approval 
to  his  boy's  plan;  though  on  one  point  I  am  sure  he 
would  insist;  namely,  that  the  secretary  from  each 
country  should  be  chosen  from  among  the  mission- 
aries to  that  country,  and  that  the  missionaries 
should  also  have  the  privilege  of  nominating  two  or 
three  candidates  each,  from  the  first  three  of  whom 
a  choice  should  be  made.  —  Thus  I  leave  it;  a  little 
seed;  planted  in  memory  of  one  I  love,  for  a  work  I 
greatly  love;  and  in  due  season  it  will  bear  fruit. 
Of  this  much  I  am  certain. 

ABILITY  TO  LEAD. 

The  talent  for  leadership  takes  many  different 
forms;  some  displaying  it  most  markedly  in  art, 
some  in  literature,  some  in  the  class  room,  and  some 
mostly  on  the  platform;  while  others  show  it  most 
markedly  in  active  life.  Without  this  talent  for 
leadership  a  missionary  would  indeed  be  a  failure; 
and  so  it  comes  to  pass  that  wherever  we  find  wide 


104  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

awake  missionaries  this  talent  displays  itself  mark- 
edly; and  in  Mr.  Wheeler's  case  it  was  so  marked  as 
to  sometimes  seem  for  the  moment  the  sole  secret  of 
his  success.  But  such  a  conclusion  would  miss  the 
mark  sadly;  for  great  leaders  are  full  as  apt  to  be 
great  deceivers  as  great  helpers;  and  in  his  power  to 
Help  Men  lay  Mr.  Wheeler's  chief  glory.  And  yet 
one  secret  of  this  higher  power  was  the  lower,  but 
indispensable  gift  of  leadership. 

And  whence  came  this  gift?  Doubtless  from  a 
variety  of  sources;  and  yet  chief  among  them  we 
shall  find  his  habit  of  coming  quickly  to  the  main 
point  and  hitting  it  on  the  head,  good  and  hard. 
For  it  was  perfectly  wonderful  to  see  how  fast  he 
could  dodge  minor  points,  or  else  knock  them  over, 
and  come  to  the  main  question  in  dispute.  For  like 
a  skilful  general  he  often  took  in  the  whole  situa- 
tion at  a  glance,  and  knew  pretty  accurately  at  the 
very  start  just  what  to  expect,  and  how  to  go  to 
work. 

And  when  he  saw  a  man  describing  a  difficulty 
too  fully,  he  was  quite  apt  to  interrupt  him  with  the 
question:  "But  do  all  these  details  make  the  main 
point  any  clearer?  Then  why  discuss  them?"  — 
"But,"  remarks  some  one,  "you  cannot  always  get 
at  the  main  point.  What  then?"  Why  then  you 
certainly  ought  not  to  say  much.  For  at  such  times 
nine-tenths  silence  and  only  one-tenth  talk  is  a  far 
better  solvent  than  nine-tenths  talk  and  only  one- 
tenth  silence. 

And  here  too  we  notice  a  power,  common  to  all 
the  world's  greatest  leaders;  he  could  at  times  stand 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CHARACTER.  105 

still  and  wait  and  watch  for  more  light,  at  the  very 
time  when  weaker  minds  would  have  felt  that  a  pos- 
itive decision  must  be  made  one  way  or  the  other. 
A?id  the  light  always  came  after  a  while :  though  it 
did  sometimes  upset  pretty  badly  some  of  his  tenta- 
tive plans  and  hopes. 

And  still  another  point  of  interest  is  the  curious 
fact  that  quite  often  he  could  carry  men's  con- 
sciences with  him  and  get  them  to  do  as  he  advised, 
even  when  their  intellects  were  still  unconvinced; 
i.  e.,  when  they  still  supposed  (theoretically)  that  he 
was  mistaken.  Such  followers  as  these  were  of 
course  rather  poor  ones,  as  they  were  apt  to  make  a 
good  many  blunders,  and  were  also  too  timid  to  be 
the  best  of  workmen.  But  fortunately  most  of  his 
conversions  were  of  a  sort  where  conscience  and  in- 
tellect were  both  convinced;  and  so  were  lasting 
and  hearty. 

THE  MISSIONARY'S  HOME  LIFE. 

But  "the  missionary  should  also  have  a  home," 
says  Mr.  Wheeler,  "a  retreat  to  which  he  can  return 
to  be  refreshed  and  cheered  when  depressed  and 
dispirited  by  the  bodily  and  mental  fatigues  of  out- 
side missionary  labor."*  And  he  realized  the  need 
of  such  a  home;  because  his  own  was  such  a  rest  and 

♦Ten  Years  on  the  Euphrates,  p.  65  —  Those  who  wish  to  see  a  very  curious 
argument  on  the  other  side,  based  largely  on  the  fact  that  missionary  wives 
make  the  work  much  more  costly  (!)  are  referred  to  the  Annual  Report  of 
the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  for  1842,  pp.  42  to  44;  though  in  some  ot  his  later  works 
this  same  writer  manfully  admits  that  he  was  badly  mistaken  in  his  reason- 
ing, and  that  missionary  wives  are  a  great  blessing,  even  if  they  are  rather 
costly. 


io6  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

cheer  to  him,  especially  at  those  inevitable  moments 
when  it  seemed  as  if  no  one  outside  understood  him. 
For  such  moments  are  sure  to  come  to  all  of  us,  even 
the  strongest. 

But  I  shall  not  try  to  describe  that  home;  for  our 
literature  is  full  of  pictures  of  lovely  homes;  and  in 
their  deeper  essentials  all  true  homes  are  similar, 
though  never  alike.  Yet  of  the  many  things  that 
come  to  my  mind  I  must  speak  of  a  few,  which  though 
not  specially  picturesque,  will  perhaps  be  helpful 
and  interesting  to  young  missionaries  who  are  build- 
ing up  a  home  in  some  lonely  foreign  land,  and  find 
themselves  at  times  in  real  danger  of  being  dwarfed 
by  some  of  the  influences  by  which  they  are  sur- 
rounded. 

The  first  thing  that  impresses  me  in  the  memory 
of  that  home  is  the  place  that  Family  Prayer  held  in 
it.  I  will  not  describe  just  how  it  was  conducted; 
for  that  is  not  essential;  and  I  have  seen  it  conducted 
very  differently  in  different  homes,  with  equal  help- 
fulness. But  the  essential  point  was  this;  he  and 
my  mother  and  their  children  did  meet  every  day  at 
the  family  altar  to  ask  for  divine  help,  or  else  to  give 
thanks  for  help  already  given;  and  at  such  times  he 
spoke  of  only  such  things  as  specially  interested  him 
and  them  then  and  there.  Hence  his  prayers  lacked 
that  vagueness  and  flatness  which  too  often  charac- 
terizes the  prayers  of  really  good  men,  and  makes 
them  less  helpful  to  the  leader  and  to  all  who  join. 

Once  more  do  I  remember  how  often  he  read 
aloud  of  an  evening,  or  on  the  afternoon  of  some 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CHARACTER.  107 

half  day  set  apart  for  rest.  Sometimes  it  was  the 
Life  of  Christ  and  sometimes  the  Life  of  Paul;  some- 
times the  history  of  the  Netherlands,  or  of  Jesuit 
Missions,  and  sometimes  the  latest  news  from  China 
and  Japan;  and  sometimes  the  London  Times  or  the 
Boston  Recorder;  and  sometimes  right  along  for 
hours,  though  oftcner  only  by  snatches,  —  a  sentence 
here  and  there  —  but  always  interspersed  with  plenty 
of  comments  and  queries  as  to  my  mother's  opinion. 
Thus  was  the  home  life  enriched,  and  even  the 
young  folks  made  to  feel  that  life  was  full  of  large 
problems  to  be  solved;  and  that  it  made  a  great  dif- 
ference whether  they  were  worked  out  right  or  not. 

Then  next  am  I  reminded  of  his  love  of  study; 
first  of  all  his  Bible  study,  to  which  he  gave  a  little 
time  every  morning  when  at  home;  and,  secondly, 
his  more  general  studies,  to  which  he  turned  when- 
ever he  found  his  grasp  of  other  work  growing  too 
nervous  or  weary,  or  lacking  in  its  usual  clearness. 
And  yet  to  call  it  "study"  seems  almost  laughable, 
so  different  was  his  idea  of  study  from  that  of  many 
who  spend  a  life-time  in  study,  only  to  end  off  by 
being  as  full  of  "learning"  as  a  Thanksgiving  turkey, 
and  about  as  ignorant. 

But,  to  my  father,  studying,  or  rather  "reading" 
as  he  called  it,  meant  not  a  stuffing  of  his  memory 
for  some  future  examination  day,  but  simply  a  catch- 
ing and  fixing  hints,  inspirations  and  thoughts,  which 
gave  him  food  for  still  further  thought  and  action. 
And  thus  he  grew  rich.  For  from  life,  men,  books, 
newspapers,  letters  and  nature  he  was  ever  drinking 
in  and  shaping  and  re-shaping  the  food  he  needed. 


io8  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

And  yet,  as  I  look  back  and  see  what  a  student 
he  really  was,  I  am  more  and  more  impressed  with 
his  great  wisdom  in  refusing  to  spend  a  single 
moment  on  study  which  simply  makes  a  man  more 
"learned,"  without  giving  him  any  added  inspiration 
and  clearness  of  vision  for  the  duties  of  today. 

Thus  was  he  a  philosopher,  even  though  philos- 
ophy was  the  one  study  which  he  most  despised, 
because  of  its  many  absurd  and  misleading  methods; 
and  in  the  dangerous  but  necessary  investigations 
of  modern  thought,  many  a  student  will  yet  find,  in 
the  life  of  this  missionary,  the  mingled  inspiration 
and  restraint  which  shall  make  his  own  studies  of 
philosophy  and  life  as  truly  simple  and  practical  as 
were  Mr.  Wheeler's  studies  of  missionary  policy 
and  the  art  of  helping  men. 

But  not  only  did  this  missionary  love  to  "read 
about  the  great  men  and  heroes  of  the  Christian 
church  and  of  the  world,"  he  also  loved  nature;  and 
on  his  beautiful  though  inexpensive  Arab  horse  he 
loved  to  race  among  the  hills  where  his  field  of 
labor  lay  spread  before  him,  but  in  a  restful  way; 
while  "Mamma"  trotted  along  on  a  meek  white 
donkey,  and  others  from  the  station,  some  on  horses, 
some  on  mules,  and  some  on  donkeys,  made  a  merry 
crowd  of  missionaries,  as  merry  as  those  who  long 
ago  went  to  Canterbury  town,  though  not  as  reck- 
less. 

And  thus  might  we  run  on  indefinitely;  for  gossip 
like  this  is  pleasant.  But  to  properly  understand 
the  special  meaning  of  this  man's  life,  and  of  the 


THE  MISSIONARY'S  CHARACTER.  109 

things  he  taught  and  did,  we  must  turn  at  once  to 
other  topics.  For  even  as  a  boy  it  was  his  **policy" 
that  most  deeply  impressed  me,  next  to  his  char- 
acter; and  this  policy  I  wish  to  explain  as  fully  as 
his  spoken  and  written  words  and  remembered  ac- 
tions make  possible;  for  here  it  was  that  he  most 
sought  for  light,  and  added  most  to  men's  knowl- 
edge of  the  ways  of  God. 

And  yet  one  word  more  I  must  say,  in  closing,  of 
that  home  in  which  the  man  rested  and  grew  strong. 
Perhaps  the  most  striking  feature  of  it  all  was  the 
quiet  tenderness  which  pervaded  it,  even  from  the 
earliest  years  of  my  recollection,  and  even  when  in 
sadness  of  heart  he  had  to  whip  his  little  boy.  He 
was  not  demonstrative;  it  always  seemed  to  me  rath- 
er that  he  was  too  silent  much  of  the  time;  but  he 
was  nearly  always  tender,  and  willing  to  let  his  love 
show,  very  plainly,  though  for  the  most  part  in  a 
very  undemonstrative  way;  and  of  this  I  have  always 
been  glad;  for  a  "policy"  without  a  warm  heart  back 
of  it  would  be  a  very  poor  thing,  however  good  it 
might  be  in  the  abstract. 

HIS  FAULTS  AND  HIS    EXAMPLE. 

But  did  he  not  have  any  faults?  Yes;  and  any 
one  who  reads  this  book  through  attentively  will  see 
that  we  do  not  claim  that  the  missionary  was  infal- 
lible or  faultless.  But  the  study  of  a  man's  strong 
points  is  ordinarily  more  helpful  than  the  study  of 
his  faults,  provided  the  faults  are  touched  on  occa- 
sionally, and  the  good  points  are  spoken  of  enthusi- 
astically, but  not  in  terms  of  mere  eulogy. 


no  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

But  what  we  do  claim  is  that  Mr.  Wheeler  was  ex- 
ceptionally true,  in  his  motives,  and  in  the  larger  out- 
lines of  his  thought;  and  also  in  the  details  of  mat- 
ters which  he  looked  into  at  all  closely;  and  that  his 
trueness  at  these  three  points  was  what  brought  him 
success,  a  success  that  was  truly  wonderful.  And 
what  we  have  tried  to  do,  in  planning  and  writing 
this  book,  is  to  explain  that  success;  so  as  to  make 
it  easier  for  others  to  go  and  do  likewise,  by  learning 
from  him  even  as  he  learned  from  Christ  and  Paul 
and  Luther  and  Wesley;  or  rather  learning  with  his 
help  to  better  understand  both  Christ  and  Paul,  and 
the  things  they  taught. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE. 


We  now  come  to  some  lessons  from  experience, 
taken  in  part  from  Mr.  Wheeler's  oft  reiterated 
teachings,  and  in  part  from  his  more  quiet  practice, 
which  we  believe  will  be  helpful  to  many  a  new  be- 
ginner; though  we  cannot  help  hoping  that  they  will 
also  be  helpful  to  such  older  missionaries  as  are 
gifted  with  those  large  powers  of  insight  which  en- 
able a  man  to  keep  on  learning  from  others,  how- 
ever well  informed  and  successful  he  may  be  him- 
self. 

We  will  first  of  all  discuss  a  few  general  princi- 
ples bearing  on  the  missionary's  own  conduct,  and 
on  the  most  effective  ways  of  using  the  forces  at  his 
disposal;  after  which  in  successive  chapters  we  will 
take  up  the  Planting  of  Churches,  the  Training  of 
Religious  Leaders,  the  Proper  Use  of  Money, 
Founding  Schools  and  Colleges,  and  various  other 
problems  which  need  not  be  enumerated  here. 

CHANGING  ONE'S  MIND. 

Beginning  first  of  all  with  some  lessons  which 
seem  trifling,  and  yet  are  in  reality  indispensable  to 
large  success,  we  find  that  Mr.  Wheeler  was  a  man 

III 


112  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

who  dared  to  change  his  mind.  But  let  no  one  sup- 
pose that  he  was  fickle;  for  a  fickle  man  changes 
his  mind  foolishly  and  blindly,  ever  throwing  away 
today  the  results  of  yesterday's  hard  work.  But 
the  changing  of  mind  of  which  we  are  speaking  now 
is  one  which  brings  a  man  each  time  a  little  nearer  to 
the  truth:  and  makes  one's  plans  and  ideals  broader 
and  truer  and  more  complete,  as  the  years  go  by. 

Surely  this  is  not  fickleness;  but  simply  growth. 
And  yet  there  are  men  who  call  it  fickleness;  and 
there  are  men  who  are  so  afraid  of  seeming  fickle 
and  inconsistent  that  they  never  grow,  and  are  never 
made  one  whit  wiser  by  experience. 

And  yet  even  a  well  considered  change  of  mind 
has  its  dangers,  in  the  meeting  of  which  I  believe  the 
following  cautions  will  be  helpful,  cautions  which  I 
have  often  heard  my  father  give  to  new  beginners: 

First;  be  careful  not  to  change  your  mind  without 
sufficient  reason;  secondly,  do  not  change  it  too  sud- 
denly; and,  thirdly,  see  to  it  that  your  new  thoughts 
and  plans  are  not  mere  reversals  of  the  thoughts 
and  plans  of  yesterday;  but  only  broader  and  simpler 
and  more  complete  statements  of  the  same  vital 
truths.  And  if  at  times  this  involved  some  incon- 
sistency, it  was  nearly  always  the  inconsistency  of  a 
man  who  is  nearer  right  today  than  he  was  yesterday; 
and  such  inconsistency  is  not  athingto  be  ashamed  of. 

WINNING  MEN  BY  EXAMPLE. 

Then  next  we  find  in  Mr.  Wheeler's  life  how  much 
depends  on  a  missionary's  own  personal  character 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  113 

and  example.  For  often,  when  people  thought  his 
teachings  nonsensical,  something  in  the  man's  life 
contradicted  them,  and  made  them  willing  to  follow 
his  lead  far  enough  to  find  out  for  themselves  that 
he  was  right.  And  though  it  does  not  follow  from 
this  that  very  good  people  will  make  good  mission- 
aries, no  matter  how  few  brains  they  have;  this  much 
is  true,  that,  (given  the  brains  and  consecration,)  a 
really  lovely  character  in  detail  will  multiply  many 
fold  the  usefulness  of  the  worker;  while  an  unlovely 
and  selfish  vein  running  through  the  life  will  greatly 
lessen  its  usefulness,  even  when  the  unlovely  one  is 
really  consecrated  to  the  Master's  service;  for  "great 
indeed  is  the  power  of  a  consecrated  Christian  life;" 
and  great  the  weakness  of  one  in  which  some  "little 
faults"  are  allowed  to  live  on  unconquered,  because 
they  seem  so  little. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  STUDYING  CHARACTER  MORE 
CLOSELY. 

Again  we  find  that  he  was  careful  not  to  judge 
men  simply  by  their  talk,  or  by  their  willingness  to 
take  up  some  of  the  lighter  crosses  of  the  Christian 
life.  For  even  when  men's  good  intentions  are  sin- 
cere, they  may  often  be  so  ill  considered  and  shal- 
low as  to  soon  die  down  again,  and  come  to  naught, 
for  a  while  at  least. 

Hence  he  was  slow  to  count  up  converts,  though 
quick  to  welcome  each  new  comer,  and  shrewd  and 
eager  to  quickly  lead  him  on  to  a  more  complete 
taking  up  of  the  cross  of  service  and  the  crown  of 
love. 

(8) 


114  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

And,  furthermore,  by  carefully  noting  his  hearers, 
he  learned,  after  a  while,  to  divide  them  very  quick- 
ly into  four  classes:  First,  hypocrites;  secondly, 
persons  actuated  by  mere  honest  curiosity;  third, 
honest  truth  seekers,  who  are  as  yet  only  at  the  in- 
quirer's stage;  and  fourthly,  those  who  may  proper- 
ly be  counted  on  as  fully  convinced  and  brought 
over  to  the  Lord's  side.  —  And  this  habit  of  care- 
fully determining  a  hearer's  standing,  before  saying 
much  to  him,  made  it  easier  for  him  to  tell  just  what 
message  would  be  most  helpful  in  each  case;  for  he 
firmly  believed  that  even  truth  may  be  spoken  in 
such  an  ill-timed  way  as  to  do  little  if  any  good. 

Another  interesting  illustration  of  this  constant 
desire  to  judge  men  justly  was  the  almost  tender 
respect  which  he  showed  for  some  who  he  felt  were 
on  the  wrong  road,  and  yet  were  at  heart  real  truth 
seekers.  And  while  we  cannot  say  that  he  always 
succeeded  in  being  just  to  such  as  these,  we  can  say 
that  he  at  least  tried  to  be  just,  and  you  will  find 
that  of  some  good  people  even  this  much  cannot  be 
said;  for  they  seem  to  glory  in  being  unfair  in  their 
criticism  of  others. 

HOW  TO  DEAL  WITH  PREJUDICE. 

Another  simple  but  far-reaching  lesson  which  Mr. 
Wheeler  learned  from  experiednce  was  the  art  of 
dealing  with  honest  prejudice.  And  the  art  as  he 
understood  and  practiced  it  seemed  to  be  this: — If, 
in  the  belief  of  another,  along  with  much  error,  there 
was  some  real  truth,  he  would  try  in  some  simple, 
cordial  way  to  recognize  and  admit  that  truth;  and 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  115 

then  go  on  to  show  how  that  truth  would  naturally 
lead  on  to  still  others,  which  they  had  forgotten  or 
overlooked.  Thus  would  he  win  them;  taking  their 
erroneous  views  as  the  starting  point  for  something 
higher  and  more  consistent;  instead  of  foolishly  ig- 
noring the  little  they  already  knew. 

To  illustrate  this  method  of  dealing  with  preju- 
dice, let  us  consider  for  a  moment,  two  pictures; 
one  taken  from  history,  and  the  other  from  Mr. 
Wheeler's  own  life.  The  first  of  these  is  from  the 
life  of  St.  Paul  and  is  one  to  which  Mr.  Wheeler 
often  referred  with  great  delight.  —  Paul  was 
preaching  in  Athens  to  a  crowd  of  heathen  on  Mars' 
Hill  (Acts  17:22)  and  thus  he  spoke:  "Ye  men  of 
Athens,  I  can  see  that  ye  are  in  all  things  more  God 
fearing  than  most;  for,  as  I  passed  by  and  beheld 
your  sacred  places,  I  even  found  an  altar  with  this 
inscription — 'To  the  Unknown  God.'  Whom  there- 
fore ye  worship,  without  knowing  him,  —  him  do  I 
declare  unto  you."  Such  was  Paul's  method;  as  we 
also  see  from  his  epistles,  and  from  other  addresses 
in  the  Acts,  — And  now  for  an  illustration  from  Mr. 
Wheeler's  own  life. 

He  was  trying  to  address  an  excited  crowd  of 
people,  who  often  kissed  the  Holy  Bible  on  their 
altar,  but  knew  very  little  of  its  contents,  and 
thought  the  missionary  an  infidel.  And  what  did 
the  missionary  do?  He  simply  took  up  that  Holy 
Book  and  kissed  it;  and  like  magic  the  crowd  be- 
came silent  and  attentive,  and  were  willing  to  hear 
the  missionary  a-s  he  expounded  to  them  the  teach- 
ings of  the  book  which  he  had  kissed  in  their  pres- 


ii6  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

ence.  And,  by  thus  kissing  it,  he  put  himself  in  a 
position  where  he  could  go  on  and  show  them  that 
reading  it  daily  was  better  than  kissing. 

And  even  when  a  prejudice  seemed  wholly  wrong, 
the  missionary  was  careful  not  to  step  on  it  need- 
lessly, either  by  word  or  deed;  and  in  discussion  he 
would  make  a  special  effort  to  find  some  other  start- 
ing point  on  which  they  could  agree,  thus  making 
the  discussion  more  helpful.  And  so  he  won  and 
impressed  many  a  man  whom  a  less  charitable  or 
more  pugnacious  person  would  have  needlessly 
grieved  and  driven  away. 

But  when  the  people's  prejudices  called  for  con- 
cessions which  would  be  harmful  to  them,  or  to  a  free 
and  healthy  development  of  the  missionary's  own 
deeper  life,  then  Mr.  Wheeler  was  one  of  those  who 
would  not  yield  an  inch;  but  would  either  silently 
disregard  the  prejudice;  or  administer  a  searching 
rebuke,  if  it  were  shown  in  too  aggressive  a  way. 

HOW  TO  MAKE  DISCUSSION   PROFITABLE. 

The  habit  of  often  shifting  the  ground  of  a  discus- 
sion of  which'  we  have  just  spoken  was  one  of  the 
most  persistent  and  helpful  of  Mr.  Wheeler's  whole 
life.  Yet  it  should  be  remembered  that  he  never  let 
the  discussion  shift  at  random,  or  shifted  it  himself 
from  a  mere  desire  to  dodge  difificulties;  but  simply 
from  a  determination  not  to  debate  for  a  single  mo- 
ment on  any  subject  which  the  other  party  was  not 
willing  to  discuss  fairly,  or  was  evidently  incapable 
of  seeing  clearly.  So  that  whenever  he  shifted  the 
ground  of  a  discussion,  or  suddenly  turned  from  de- 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  117 

bate  to  a  scathing  rebuke  of  some  conceited  and  dis- 
honest debater,  who  insisted  on  talking,  but  would 
not  talk  fairly,  —  even  his  opponents  generally  ad- 
mitted that  he  had  good  reasons  for  so  doing,  and 
were  generally  willing  to  admit  it  openly.* 

HOW    TO   DISTINGUISH    ESSENTIALS    FROM 
NON-ESSENTIALS. 

But,  says  some  one,  how  are  we  to  distinguish  es- 
sentials from  non-essentials?  This  question  is  not 
an  easy  one  to  answer,  nor  are  we  likely  to  always 
succeed  in  distinguishing  them  as  fully  as  we  would 
like  to  do.  But  it  is  a  question  which  we  should 
know  how  to  answer  pretty  clearly  and  correctly, 
even  from  the  very  first,  and  with  greater  and  great- 
er clearness  as  the  years  go  by;  for  right  here  it  is 
that  many  a  worker,  both  at  home  and  abroad,  has 
made  shipwreck  of  his  own  life's  usefulness,  and  has 
brought  great  injury  to  himself  and  others. 

Taking  up  the  question  then  biographically,  and 
trying  to  find  in  a  closer  study  of  Mr.  Wheeler's 
own  life  an  explanation  of  his  skill  in  distinguish- 
ing   essentials    from    non-essentials,    we    find    two 

*I  wish  to  add  here  my  private  opinion,  based  on  a  study  of  my  father's  life, 
and  also  on  other  data,  that  such  informal  discussions  as  these  will  generally 
be  found  far  more  helpful  in  missionary  work,  both  home  and  foreign,  than 
talks  or  addresses  where  only  one  person  talks  on  uninterruptedly,  except  by 
hostile  persons,  for  twenty,  thirty  or  forty  minutes.  For  elaborate  mono- 
logues are  coming  to  be  less  and  less  of  a  power  in  the  real  shaping  of  an  aver- 
age man's  opinions,  in  any  matter  where  his  opinions  and  yours  radically 
disagree, 

Mr.  Wheeler's  rule  of  never  debating  either  in  public  or  in  private  with  a 
man  who  was  too  dishonest  or  conceited  to  be  fair  is  also  well  worthy  of  spe- 
cial note.  For  such  debates  only  tend  to  make  men  forget  the  main  issue  and 
run  off  onto  others  which  are  comparatively  of  very  little  importance  or  no 
importance  at  all. 


ii8  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

traits  that  go  a  long  way  toward  explaining  it. 
One  was  his  habit  of  never  deciding  a  question 
wholesale.  —  His  instinct  seemed  to  be  to  cut  up 
any  large  or  difficult  question  into  a  great  many  lit- 
tle ones;  and  then  he  would  get  so  absorbed  in  the 
accurate  solution  of  each  of  these  that  it  often 
seemed  as  if  he  had  forgotten  the  main  point. 
But  when  at  last  each  of  these  minor  questions  was 
clearly  solved  (or  else  clearly  seen  to  be  non-essen- 
tial) then  he  would  come  back  with  startling  sud- 
denness to  the  main  issue,  of  which  these  lower 
questions  were  only  vital  parts.  —  And  then  could 
he  see  clearly  enough  to  solve  many  a  perplexing 
problem  which,  had  he  attempted  to  solve  it  earlier, 
would  only  have  led  him  into  still  greater  perplex- 
ity. 

But  side  by  side  of  this  habit  of  never  deciding 
wholesale,  lay  another  of  great  importance,  without 
which  he  would  have  been  sadly  crippled  in  many 
an  exciting  crisis;  namely,  a  seeming  utter  disregard 
of  the  shortness  of  time,  whenever  a  careful  study 
of  the  situation  showed  that  the  longest  way  round 
was  the  only  sure  way  of  getting  home.  And  yet 
he  generally  got  there,  and  got  there  in  better  shape 
than  others  who  had  not  the  courage  to  go  so  slow- 
ly. For  God  and  nature  are  strangely  kind  to  the 
man  who  would  rather  do  a  little  work  well  than  a 
lot  of  work  poorly;  and  generally  reward  him  by 
letting  him  accomplish  more  than  those  who  prefer 
to  take  a  short  cut,  even  though  not  quite  sure  that 
it  is  right. 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  119 

But  no,  says  some  one,  Mr.  Wheeler,  instead  of 
being  slow  to  decide  hard  and  perplexing  questions, 
was  very  quick  and  even  hasty  in  his  way  of  decid- 
ing them.  To  which  we  simply  reply,  then  you  do 
not  know  your  man.  For  though  he  was  quick  to 
act,  when  his  mind  was  once  made  up;  and  may  also 
have  been  very  quick  in  deciding  some  matters 
which  to  others  were  perplexing  and  hard,  I  can 
freely  say  that,  whenever  he  himself  was  perplexed, 
h.e  was  one  of  the  slowest  of  men  in  arriving  at  a 
decision  that  I  have  ever  seen.       • 

Was  he  then  infallible?  No,  certainly  not;  for  he 
was  evidently  mistaken  at  times.  But  it  is  grand 
to  see  how  this  beautiful  sensitiveness  to  truth,  and 
unwillingness  to  go  ahead  blindly,  when  he  was  not 
sure  of  his  ground,  did  often  save  him  from  mis- 
takes, or  else  enable  him  to  find  and  correct  them, 
when  he  had  already  made  them. 

But,  going  a  step  or  two  farther,  we  find  still  other 
points  in  Mr.  Wheeler's  character  which  throw  light 
on  this  art  of  distinguishing  essentials  from  non-es- 
sentials.—  One  is  that  he  had  very  little  to  say, 
most  of  the  time,  about  "non-essentials."  —  It  was 
simply  "more  essential"  and  "less  essential,"  so  that 
most  of  the  "non-essentials"  were  not  suddenly  dis- 
covered to  be  such,  but  only  gradually^  as  day  after 
day,  and  year  after  year,  a  careful  study  of  the 
question,  "What  had  I  better  do  today?"  showed 
that  there  were  always  some  things  more  important 
to  be  done  than  others,  a7id  just  what  these  things 
were. 


120  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

And,  secondly,  he  came  to  realize  more  and  more 
clearly  as  the  years  went  by  that  some  things  which 
may  be  essential  tomorrow  are  not  essential  today; 
while  others  that  are  essential  today,  may  not  be 
essential  tomorrow.  And,  furthermore,  that  many 
things  which  are  essential  and  helpful  for  one 
nation  or  individual  may  be  non-essential  or  even 
harmful  for  another.  So  that  the  need  of  choosing 
carefully  each  day  the  things  that  are  most  essential 
for  that  day's  good  came  to  be  a  very  clearly  recog- 
nized one  in  his  whole  life,  keeping  regularity  from 
deteriorating  into  stagnation  and  irregularity  from 
turning  into  lawlessness. 

THE  WHOLE    PROBLEM  IN  A  NUT-SHELL. 

But  this  question  of  essentials  and  non-essentials 
leads  on  to  another;  namely  this:  Are  there  not 
some  things  that  are  essential  everywhere?  and  how 
is  a  missionary  to  tell  what  these  are,  in  first  going 
among  an  unchristian  people,  or  one  whose  Chris- 
tianity is  very  faulty?  This  question  we  have  al- 
ready answered  quite  fully  under  "The  Missionary's 
Message"  and  "Laying  Foundations."  But  there  is 
also  needed  of  a  more  general  answer,  one  that  will 
briefly  sum  up  the  whole  question  in  a  single  sen- 
tence of  almost  axiomatic  clearness  and  simplicity 
—  Mr.  Wheeler's  own  statement  of  it  being  some- 
what as  follows:  Give  them  at  first  only  such  things 
as  they  Most  Need,  taking  care  not  to  give  too 
much. 

Then  will  your  work  count,  and  be  a  help  to  them 
in  getting  later  on  from  you  and  from  others  such 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  121 

other  helps  as  they  may  also  need.  For  man's 
needs  are  many;  but  the  deeper  ones  must  be  met  first : 
then  the  lesser  one.  And  he  who  overlooks  men's 
deeper  needs  in  his  zeal  to  relieve  lesser  ones,  will  only 
drive  them  farther  off  from  peace  and  God. 

"But  what  do  men  most  need?"  —  We  may  sum 
it  all  up  in  a  very  few  words;  namely,  that  we  some- 
how convince  them  that  God  is  love;  and  that  we 
are  his  children;  and  so  to  be  trusted  (as,  for  ex- 
ample, in  medical  missionary  work).  Then  comes 
the  slow  and  hard,  but  sweet  task,  of  teaching  them 
also  to  be  like  him. 

Such  is  our  message  in  its  three  most  essential 
parts;  only  we  should  be  careful  in  trying  to  win 
their  confidence  to  use  only  such  simple  Quiet 
helps  as  will  be  least  likely  to  make  them  forget, 
even  for  a  single  second,  their  heavenly  Father,  and 
his  wish  that  they  should  be  like  him.  For  just 
here  it  is  that  missionaries  have  sometimes  erred 
most  sadly;  stuffing  the  poor  unchristian  or  young 
Christian  brain  with  such  a  variety  of  learning  and 
superficial  civilization  that  the  need  of  being  good 
and  true,  unselfish  and  lovely  has  been  lost  sight  of; 
and  the  poor,  disappointed  people  have  failed  to 
get  that  deeper  change  of  life  and  heart  of  which 
these  should  have  been  only  the  after  fruits,  the 
"meat"  but  not  the  "milk." 

And  yet  in  all  these  cases  we  should  remember 
that  there  is  no  antagonism  between  civilization  and 
the  gospel,  or  between  learning  and  religion;  but 
simply  an  inability  of  weak  and  darkened  races  to 
digest  the  strong,  rich  food  of  higher  education  and 


122  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

civilization,  until  they  have  been  Toned  Up  by  the 
sweeter  and  simpler  and  more  vital  food  of  a  gospel 
of  love  and  duty;  first  seen  and  heard,  and  then  put 
in  practice  for  many  a  long  and  happy  year,  like  the 
years  of  childhood,  and  early  manhood  and  woman- 
hood. 

For  as  to  you  and  me  the  larger  problems  of  ma- 
ture life  brought  new  struggles  of  which  our  child- 
hood was  ignorant,  so  does  "higher  education,"  so 
called,  bring  fierce  struggles  and  temptations  into 
every  life;  and  it  is  wrong  to  let  any  one  plunge  into 
deep  water  too  soon.  For  intellectual  swimming  is 
more  difficult  than  physical;  and  the  dangers  of 
drowning  are  vastly  greater,  resulting  as  it  does  in  a 
life-long  blindness  or  else  badness,  produced  by  too 
much  undigested  learning. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  PREACHING  A  POSITIVE  GOSPEL. 

But  going  on  with  our  narrative,  we  find  yet  an- 
other trait  which  contributed  greatly  to  Mr.  Wheeler's 
success  as  a  missionary.  He  preached  an  intensely 
positive  gospel  most  of  the  time.  Not  what  we  ought 
not  to  do,  but  what  we  ought  to  do;  not  what  we 
ought  not  to  believe,  but  what  we  ought  to  believe; 
not  the  vices  but  the  virtues:  and  when  men's  vices 
were  pointed  out,  it  was  not  in  the  dramatic  way 
which  is  too  common  now  days,  but  sadly,  and  in 
words  that  appealed  to  the  conscience  rather  than 
the  imagination;  so  asto  prepare  the  way  for  the  more 
pleasant  work  of  urging  and  explaining  at  length 
some  positive  and  inspiring  duty. 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  123 

And  so  he  learned  to  dwell  long  and  lovingly  on 
the  more  simple  and  oft  needed  truths  of  the  Chris- 
tian life;  and  but  little  on  the  inconsistencies  and 
errors  of  the  beliefs  which  he  hoped  to  displace  by 
something  better.  For  he  often  used  to  say  that  he 
who  simply  knocks  down  Buddhism  or  Brahminism 
or  Gregorianism  does  not  thereby  make  men  better; 
but  may  simply  make  them  infidels  and  atheists,  who 
have  even  less  regard  for  truth  and  right  than  they 
had  before. 

While  he  also  tried  to  keep  in  mind  the  fact  that 
some  forms  of  littleness  and  ignorance  cannot  be 
wholly  overcome  except  by  years  and  even  gener- 
ations of  growth;  and  so  should  be  criticised  more 
gently  than  other  faults  that  come  more  directly  un- 
der the  control  of  the  will. 

NOT  RULES;   BUT  PRINCIPLES. 

A  missionary  who  had  no  rules,  or  who  had  them, 
but  did  not  enforce  them,  would  indeed  be  a  weak- 
ling and  a  changeling,  tearing  down  his  own  work 
almost  as  fast  as  he  built  it;  and  many  a  missionary 
can  doubtless  trace  some  of  his  bitterest  disappoint- 
ments and  failures  to  some  moments  of  weakness  in 
which  the  wish  to  be  obliging  has  made  him  set  aside 
temporarily  some  well-considered  rule  of  procedure, 
which  experience  has  proved  tobe  essential  to  healthy 
growth. 

But  while  the  missionary  should  have  rules,  con- 
scious and  unconscious,  (asthis  book  abundantly  tes- 
tifies)and  should  never  lightly  set  them  aside,  there 
is  a  still  higher  truth  which  he  must  ever  keep  in 


124  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

mind;  namely  that  there  are  many  things  for  which 
no  rules  can  wisely  be  given,  but  only  some  simple 
and  far  reaching  principle  of  truth  and  duty,  in  the 
light  of  which  questions  of  detail  must  be  settled  by 
each  one  for  himself. 

"But  why  not  reduce  them  to  rules?"  Simply  be- 
cause your-  rules  would  be  so  complicated,  or  else  so 
full  of  mistakes,  that  they  would  do  more  harm  than 
good,  killing  out  that  healthy  individuality  which 
makes  the  life  of  one  man  or  one  nation  so  strikingly 
different  from  that  of  another.  And  so  deep  is  this 
law  of  difference,  or  individuality,  that  it  often  hap- 
pens that  "rules  and  plans"  which  would  be  a  help 
to  you  and  me  would  be  a  positive  hindrance  to  the 
Christian  life  of  the  people  for  whom  we  are  working. 

Hence  Mr.  Wheeler  and  his  colleagues  were  very 
careful  not  to  lay  down  many  set  rules  for  their  con- 
verts; provided  only  they  conformed  to  the  deep  law 
of  godliness  and  love  which  the  missionaries  had 
come  to  proclaim.  And  it  is  pleasant  to  recall  how 
emphatic  Mr.  Wheeler  was  in  saying  that  the  gospel 
of  Christ  was  not  a  loaf  of  bread,  baked  in  your  way 
or  mine,  but  simply  a  leaven  suited  to  all  climes,  and 
capable  of  adapting  itself  to  many  different  civiliza- 
tions and  purifying  them  all,  without  making  them 
all  alike. 

THE  IMPORTANCE  OF  REACHING  LEADING  MINDS. 

We  now  come  to  a  matter  of  great  importance  in 
the  effective  and  economical  planning  of  missionary 
work;  namely,  the  desirability  of  reaching  and  influ- 
encing just  as  many  leading  minds  as  possible.     For 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  125 

any  one  can  see  that  he  who  converts  a  hundred  lead- 
ers of  men  in  five  or  ten  or  twenty  years  will  have 
laid  a  far  broader  foundation  than  he  who  simply 
converts  an  equal  number  of  ordinary  men  in  the 
same  time,  most  of  whom  are  not  endowed  with  any 
special  giftof  leadership,  or  any  special  skill  in  reach- 
ing other  lives. 

For  alike  in  heathen  lands  and  in  Christian,  in 
Orient  and  in  Occident,  in  truth  and  in  error,  no 
movement  becomes  strong  and  aggressive  till  it  has 
won  to  itself  a  goodly  number  of  leading  spirits, 
gifted  with  that  peculiar  make  up  which  makes  them 
natural  leaders  of  men,  wherever  they  go,  both  before 
and  after  conversion,  though  they  are  not  always 
great  talkers,  and  may  work  so  quietly  as  to  attract 
very  little  attention. 

But  such  men  are  rare;  and  only  a  few  of  them  are 
to  be  found  in  any  one  community.  Yet  these  are 
the  ones  whom  the  missionary  needs  to  reach,  if  pos- 
sible.    The  question  is.  How  can  he  do  it? 

First  of  all  we  answer.  He  cannot  do  it  by  settling 
down  and  becoming  simply  a  faithful  pastor  or  city 
missionary  in  some  one  community.  Such  is  the  les- 
son of  history;  such  the  lesson  of  the  life  of  which 
we  are  speaking. 

Had  Christ  settled  down  to  simply  preaching  in 
Capernaum  or  Jerusalem,  the  day  of  Pentecost  would 
never  have  seen  its  three  thousand  converts.  For  it 
was  not  Peter's  preaching,  but  the  fact  that  Jesus 
himself  had  long  preached  throughout  all  Galilee 
and  Judea,  and  at  three  successive  passovers  besides, 


126  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

and  had  called  into  active  service  twelve  chief  as- 
sistant spirits,  and  at  least  sixty  or  seventy  others 
(Luke  lO-i);  —  this  it  was  which  made  so  many 
ready  to  hear  and  quickly  repent,  when  the  day  of 
Pentecost  was  fully  come,  and  Jesus'  life  was  more 
fully  understood  in  the  added  light  of  his  death  and 
resurrection. 

So  also  with  Luther  in  his  university  at  Witten- 
berg; he  had  around  him  a  mass  of  restless  students, 
monks  and  pressmen,  leading  spirits  from  many  dif- 
ferent places,  all  eager  for  more  light,  even  before  he 
began  to  speak  to  them.  Hence  was  his  message 
mighty  and  quick;  or,  rather,  a  great  deal  more 
mighty  than  it  would  have  been  had  he  simply 
preached  to  the  people  of  some  one  town. 

So  too  was  it  in  the  early  years  of  the  Harpoot 
work;  for  the  missionaries  did  not  labor  long  and 
patiently  to  win  only  a  handful  of  hardened  sinners 
in  some  one  or  two  communities;  but  labored  ear- 
nestly for  a  few  souls  in  each  of  many  different 
towns,  namely,  those  who  were  already  "hungering 
after  righteousness;"  and  then,  through  these,  they 
reached  the  more  hardened  and  reckless  ones.  Nor 
should  we  forget  that  such  men  as  these  are  often 
reached  better  by  books,  (supplemented  by  quite 
regular,  but  not  too  frequent,  question  and  answer 
talks)  than  they  would  be  by  more  formal  address- 
es, or  more  persistent  following  up. 

And,  secondly,  we  should  remember  that  the  real 
leaders  in  any  community  or  town,  that  is  the  real 
spiritual  leaders,  are  not  generally  the  smartest 
men;  or  the  best  educated;  nor  are  they  necessarily 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  127 

the  so  called  religious  teachers  of  the  community. 
For  the  smart  men  are  too  often  smart  and  shallow,' 
and  utterly  lacking  in  spirituality;  and  the  best  edu- 
cated men  are  apt  to  be  ones  whose  very  learning 
has  blinded  them  to  the  deepest  needs  of  human 
nature;  and  as  for  so  called  religious  leaders,  most 
of  them  —  in  heathen  and  dead-christian  lands —  and 
many  of  them  even  in  our  own  land,  hold  their  of- 
fice simply  through  some  gift  of  speech,  or  love  of 
dignity  which  marks  them  out  as  religious  hin- 
drances, and  not  as  leaders. 

Hence  it  is  that  the  missionary  need  not  be 
troubled,  if  these  classes  often  let  him  alone,  or 
listen  only  in  a  cold  or  hostile  way.  The  only  ques- 
tion being  whether  he  can  find  any,  who,  though 
distrusting  him  at  first,  as  an  outsider,  do  still  seem 
to  love  the  message  that  he  brings.  If  so,  he  has 
reached  the  class  he  seeks,  and  has  a  chance  to  do  a 
far  reaching  work  for  Christ  and  men. 

Nor  is  this  any  slur  on  city  missionary  work,  or 
on  simple  pastoral  duties.  For  when  Christianity 
has  once  become  a  well  known  power  in  a  commu- 
nity, then  city  missionary  work  can  be  done  to  so 
much  better  advantage  that  its  usefulness  will  be 
just  as  great  as  that  of  work  done  on  the  foreign 
field,  provided  the  two  are  done  in  ways  that  are 
equally  wise  and  natural.  But  when  gospel  work 
first  begins  in  any  land,  strictly  city  missionary 
methods  cannot  give  the  largest  returns,  either  in 
numbers  or  quality  of  converts, 


128  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

How  Much  Touring  Shall  We  Do. 

This  brings  up  the  further  question,  how  much 
touring  or  itinerating  shall  we  do?  and  how  shall  we 
plan  it  so  as  to  get  the  best  results?  This  question 
is  an  exceedingly  important  one.  For  while  all 
missionaries  believe  in  touring,  theoretically,  the 
temptation  to  neglect  it,  in  practice,  is  very  strong; 
and  it  is  also  evident  that  some  missionaries  make 
a  far  greater  success  of  it  than  others.  As  to  the 
question,  how  much  shall  I  do?  Mr.  Wheeler's  prac- 
tical answer,  in  his  more  active  years,  was  that  he 
gave  about  half  of  his  time  to  touring  and  half  to 
home  work;  though  the  largest  part  of  this  home 
work  was  also  for  outsiders,  and  not  for  the  people 
of  the  town  where  he  lived. 

For  men  soon  learned  that  the  missionaries,  though 
avoiding  too  much  mere  bread  and  butter  hospital- 
ity, which  makes  the  missionary's  house  a  mere  con- 
venient hotel,  were  always  glad  to  see  them,  and 
talk  over  the  work  in  the  towns  whence  they  came. 
And  for  those  choice,  though  rough  clad  souls  to 
whom  bread  and  butter  would  be  no  temptation,  I 
well  remember  that  bread  and  butter  hospitality 
was  also  ever  open;  and  well  do  I  remember  the  in- 
terest with  which  I  as  a  boy  used  to  listen  to  the 
table  talk  of  these  "brethren,"  and  notice  how  my 
father  always  turned  the  conversation  to  some  topic 
of  real  and  often  stirring  interest,  so  stirring  that 
they  and  he  would  sometimes  even  forget  to  eat. 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  129 

And,  even  in  later  years,  when  he  had  a  large 
school,  collegiate  and  preparatory,  on  his  hands,  his 
love  for  touring  remained  and  asserted  itself;  though 
in  his  latest  years  he  felt  that  it  would  have  been 
better  had  he  given  it  a  more  fully  recognized  place, 
even  at  the  cost  of  seeming  to  neglect  some  parts  of 
his  school  work.  And  in  this  I  think  he  was  right; 
for  even  in  so  strong  and  practical  a  life  as  his,  years 
of  confinement  to  mere  school  work  did  tend  in 
some  ways  to  a  less  clear  grasp  of  some  of  those  safe- 
guards without  which  even  the  best  of  schools  tends 
to  become  more  or  less  unpractical  in  some  of  its 
details,  and  thus  less  perfect  and  satisfactory.  But 
of  this  we  shall  speak  later.  Only  let  me  here  re- 
peat and  pass  on  Mr.  Wheeler's  lifelong  conviction 
that  every  preaching  missionary  should  give  a  large 
part  of  his  time  to  touring;  and  the  growing  convic- 
tion of  his  later  years  that  even  educational  mission- 
aries, both  male  and  female,  whose  main  work  is  in 
connection  with  some  school,  should  also  break 
away  from  their  school  work  at  times,  and  broaden 
their  love  for  man,  and  correct  their  sprouting  prej- 
udices, by  a  closer  contact  with  common  every  day 
life  and  every  day  people. 

And  let  us  not  forget  that  ten  missionaries,  each 
spending  five  months  of  the  year  in  active  touring, 
will  accomplish  far  more  than  if  the  work  were  so 
divided  that  most  of  the  touring  was  done  by  num- 
bers one  to  five,  while  most  of  the  home  work  was 
left  to  the  others.  For  touring  is  a  necessary  tonic, 
or    rather  food,    without  which    no  missionary  can 

(9) 


130  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

maintain  a  clear  and  thoroughly  well  balanced  grasp 
of  the  great  but  perplexing  problems  in  the  solution 
of  which  he  must  day  by  day  take  a  leader's  part. 
So  that  while  some  will  properly  make  more  of  a 
specialty  of  touring  than  others,  it  still  remains  true 
that  every  missionary,  even  the  newest  comer,  should 
be  gently  compelled  to  take  a  hand  in  this  most  im- 
portant branch  of  work,  both  for  his  work's  sake 
and  his  own. 

HOW  LARGE  A  DISTRICT  SHALL  WE  COVER  IN 
TOURING? 

One  of  the  most  hotly  disputed  questions  in  all 
missionary  work  remains  yet  to  be  answered,  and 
comes  next  in  order.  How  large  a  district  shall 
the  missionary  cover  in  his  touring?  —  To  this  ques- 
tion the  wildest  answers  have  been  given,  some  even 
claiming  that  all  we  need  to  do  is  to  give  each  per- 
son a  chance  to  hear  the  gospel  once  or  twice;  and 
that  we  should  then  go  hurrying  on  from  place  to 
place,  so  as  to  give  each  creature  a  chance  to  hear 
the  gospel  offer  at  least  once.  But  if  I  thought  that 
the  Bible,  fairly  interpreted,  taught  any  such  doc- 
trine, I  should  simply  feel  obliged  to  say,  "Well,  for 
once  the  good  book  is  mistaken." 

But  when  we  come  to  look  at  the  matter  soberly, 
we  find  no  such  teaching.  For  no  preacher  or  pro- 
claimer  of  the  gospel,  or  of  any  other  deep  and 
many-sided  message,  can  be  said  to  have  really  done 
his  duty,  uutil  he  makes  his  message  plain  enough, 
by  putting  it  in  many  different  lights,  for  men  to 
really  understand  its  meaning. 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  131 

And  to  suppose  that  Christ's  second  coming  is  to 
be  hastened  by  any  preaching  of  the  gospel  which 
men  cannot  be  expected  to  really  understand,  is  as 
absurd  as  the  old  Roman  Catholic  doctrine  that 
praying  in  Latin  would  save  men's  souls,  wherever 
they  might  be. 

For  pray  tell  me.  How  many  of  us  would  be  Chris- 
tians today,  if  we  had  heard  of  Christ  and  his  gos- 
pel only  once  or  twice?  or  even  a  hundred  times? 
And  if  Christ  meant  that  his  disciples  should  go  hur- 
rying with  post  haste  from  town  to  town,  and  land 
to  land,  it  is  certainly  strange  that  so  many  of  his 
apostles  did  not  know  it,  but  remained  for  many  a 
long  year  in  Palestine;  —  and  that  he  himself  should 
have  so  carefully  lifnited  his  own  labors  to  one  small 
country,  only  eighty  miles  long. 

And,  furthermore,  those  who  are  tempted  to  think 
of  evangelizing  the  world  as  simply  a  lot  of  well- 
meaning,  earnest  talk,  regardless  of  results,  should 
remember  that  the  command,  as  given  in  Matt.  28: 
19,  clearly  excludes  such  an  idea;  for  we  are  told  to 
"make  disciples  of  all  nations,"  not  simply  to  talk 
to  them;  and  in  the  20th  verse,  "teach  them  to  ob- 
serve my  commandments"  certainly  means  more 
than  "tell  them  about  my  commandments." 

And  if  appeal  is  made  to  the  example  of  Paul,  we 
need  only  remember  that  in  nearly  every  commu- 
nity where  he  worked  there  was  already  a  nucleus 
of  devout.  Godfearing  Jews,  many  of  whom  had 
doubtless  heard  of  Christ  long  before,  as  from  year 
to  year  some  of  their  number  went  to  Jerusalem  to 


132  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

attend  the  passover.  Hence  his  work  was  more 
that  of  an  evangelist  and  reformer  and  organizer, 
teaching  those  who  already  loved  the  Father  to  love 
the  Son  as  well;  and  to  love  their  Gentile  neighbors 
more;  rather  than  that  of  a  mere  foreign  missionary 
in  the  modern  sense  of  that  word.  And  yet  Cv'^en  he 
often  staid  for  months  and  even  years  in  the  same 
place;  and  had  special  assistants,  such  as  Timothy 
and  Titus,  to  follow  up  and  complete  the  work  which 
he  himself  had  begun. 

J.  HUDSON  TAYLOR'S  OPINION. 

Coming  then  to  more  practical  solutions  of  the 
question,  I  take  pleasure  in  being  able  to  quote  from 
J.  Hudson  Taylor,  of  the  China  Inland  Mission,  a 
statement  which  puts  one  part  of  the  case  very 
clearly.  He  says*:  "It  is  most  desirable  that  the 
itineration  be  systematic;  and  that  the  same  centers 
be  visited  again  and  again. —  Short  visits  are  [ordi- 
narily] best  at  first;  but  longer  and  more  frequent 
ones  will  become  desirable  as  time  progresses." 
And  such  was  the  practice  of  the  Harpoot  mission- 
aries; and,  so  far  as  I  know,  such  also  has  been  the 
practice  of  most  other  missionaries  in  whose  success 
the  Christian  world  has  had  special  occasion  to  re- 
joice. 

Only  we  should  remember  that  very  small  centers, 
towns  of  one,  two  and  three  thousand  inhabitants, 
are  often  just  as  hopeful  for  such  work  as  ours,  as 
are  the  larger  towns  and  cities;    and  hence  should 

♦London  Missionary  Conference  of  1888,  Vol.  II.,  p.  32. 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  133 

never  be  overlooked,  till  by  actual  testing  we  find 
which  are  the  most  promising. 

But  if  visits  are  to  become  both  "longer  and  more 
frequent,"  as  time  goes  on;  the  question  arises,  How 
is  this  to  be  brought  about? 

One  answer  is  that  there  should  be  a  steadily  in- 
creasing number  of  native  workers;  some  giving 
most  of  their  time  to  touring,  and  the  remainder  to 
rest  and  study;  and  some  giving  only  a  few  weeks 
each  year  to  touring,  and  the  rest  of  their  time  to 
settled  pastoral  work  in  some  one  community. 
And  such  was  the  practice  of  the  Harpoot  mission- 
aries; who,  as  we  shall  see  later  on,  began  very  early 
the  selection  and  training  of  consecrated  though  un- 
learned men  to  do  the  work  of  native  pastors  and 
exhorters;  and  encouraged  them  to  take  a  hand  in 
the  work  of  exhortation,  and  of  slowly  evangelizing 
neighboring  communities. 

As  a  further  solution  of  the  problem,  Mr.  Taylor 
also  suggests  that  there  should  be  a  gradual  increase 
in  the  number  of  missionaries;  and  it  is  curious  to 
see  that  such  was  also  the  answer  first  proposed  by 
Mr.  Wheeler  and  his  colleagues.  For  in  1858, 
when  Diarbekir,  Arabkir  and  Harpoot  were  all  three 
occupied  by  missionaries,  we  find  them  asking  for 
two  more  missionaries  for  Palu;*  whereas  (as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact)  it  was  found,  later  on,  that  the  work  in 
and  around  all  these  four  centers  could  best  be  man- 
aged from  Harpoot  alone,  and  with  only  three  or 
four  active  male  missionares. 

♦See  Missionary  Herald  for  1858,  p,  279. 


134  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

But  how  then  could  they  make  "longer  and  more 
frequent"  visits  to  their  outstations? — First,  by  em- 
ploying more  native  workers  (as  suggested  above;) 
and,  secondly,  by  gradually  cutting  off  the  less 
promising  and  less  truth-loving  communities.  Such 
was  the  method  followed  by  the  missionaries  at 
Harpoot;  and  such  is  the  law  of  nature  and  of  grace, 
as  expounded  by  Jesus  Christ  himself  (Luke  8:i8) 
—  And  why?  Simply  because  the  most  wilful  sin- 
ners are  most  likely  to  repent  at  last,  if  left  alone  to 
their  own  unhappy  selves,  for  a  good  long  time;  and 
the  missionary  is  also  less  likely  to  deteriorate  into 
a  mere  pointless  talker,  if  he  insists  on  hunting  in 
the  highways  and  hedges  till  he  finds  each  day  some 
who  are  really  glad  to  be  invited  to  the  King's 
supper. 

NUMBER  OF  TOWNS  VISITED  EACH  YEAR. 

But  still  the  question,  just  how  many  places  can 
be  profitably  visited  in  a  year,  when  first  going  over 
the  ground,  remains  partly  unanswered;  for  the  mis- 
sionary who  generally  spends  three  or  four  days  at 
a  place,  as  the  Harpoot  missionaries  seem  to  have 
done,  will  not  of  course  reach  as  many  places  in  six 
or  eight  months  as  one  who  visits  a  new  town  each 
day  or  two:  and  furthermore  he  who  spends  only 
six  or  eight  months  touring  will  not  reach  as  many 
places  as  if  he  had  *'lived  in  tents  the  year  round," 
(as  some  have  done). 

Of  this  last  sort  of  touring  the  most  remarkable 
instance  we  have  come  across  is  that  of  the  Rev. 
R.  R.  Meadows,  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  135 

who  says*  that  with  a  force  of  three  missionaries, 
and  seven  native  helpers,  from  the  South  Tinnevelly 
district  in  Southern  India,  he  and  his  companions 
•'used  to  visit  fourteen  hundred  villages  in  North 
Tinnevelly  over  and  over  again,  all  of  them  at  least 
twice  a  year,  and  many  of  them  a  great  many  more 
times  than  that."  And  so  far  as  we  are  able  to 
judge  at  this  distance,  their  work  seems  to  have  been 
greatly  blessed;  though  we  ourselves  should  not 
dare  to  spread  out  quite  so  far,  and  know  that  Mr. 
Wheeler  favored  visiting  less  places,  and  staying 
several  days  in  a  place,  and  spending  a  part  of  the 
time  each  year  at  some  central  point,  trainmg  up  re- 
ligious leaders  for  the  permanent  occupation  of  the 
most  promising  towns  at  the  earliest  possible  date.|l 

While  then  no  better  general  rule  can  be  given 
than  that  which  we  have  quoted  above  from  Hud- 
son Taylor,  we  may  properly  add  a  few  side  hints 
and  cautions  which  will  help  to  make  the  matter 
plainer. 

(i)  The  work  of  touring,  even  when  systematic, 
may  be  carried  on  so  blunderingly  as  to  accomplish 
almost  nothing.  But  this  occurs  only  when  the 
worker  lives  and  talks  in  a  pugnacious  and  disputa- 
tious way,  rather  than  in  one  of  patient,  out-reach- 

♦London  Missionary  Conference,  1888,  Vol.  2,  pp.  39  to  41. 

IIBut  even  for  the  least  promising  towns  (spiritually)  and  for  the  most  non- 
central  and  little,  we  believe  that  a  systematic  visitation  from  neighboring 
churches,  and  at  rare  intervals,  by  a  missionary,  should  also  be  planned  for; 
so  as  to  gather  in  a  few  of  the  choicest  and  most  willing  souls  even  here,  and 
make  them  feel  that  they  too  are  invited.  And  in  such  work  as  this  the 
Harpoot  churches  and  missionaries  were  ever  forward;  though  the  Tinne- 
velly missionaries  seem  to  have  done  it  more  systematically,  and  thus  more 
effectively. 


136  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

ing  love;  or  else,  secondly,  when  he  assumes  that 
the  mere  name  of  Jesus,  without  any  knowledge  of 
his  life  and  character  and  simpler  teachings,  is  go- 
ing to  win  and  save  men,  as  if  it  were  by  magic. — 
To  these  two  classes  failure  is  inevitable;  to  all  other 
lovers  of  Jesus  more  or  less  success  is  equally  sure. 

(2)  While  all  should  tour,  more  or  less,  each 
worker  should  be  free  to  choose  the  special  sort  of 
touring  in  which  he  individually  can  do  the  best 
work;  though  experience,  and  conference  with  his 
brethren,  may  show  him  that  some  of  the  forms  of 
work  which  he  first  inclined  to  choose  are  not  really 
the  best,  and  can  be  exchanged  for  better  ones. 

(3)  Every  missionary  should  have  a  hand  in  the 
slow  but  early  selection  and  training  of  proper  lead- 
ers for  pastoral  work  later  on,  as  distinguished  from 
evangelistic  work;  hence  presumably  should  not 
spend  all  his  time  in  touring. 

(4)  The  sooner  a  beginning  can  be  made  in  or- 
ganizing groups  of  local  Christian  workers  for  sys- 
tematic home  missionary  work,  the  greater  will  be 
the  final  harvest;  provided  the  work  is  carefully  and 
wisely  done.  —  Of  this  we  shall  speak  more  fully 
later. 

(5)  And,  finally,  many  a  missionary  who  has 
made  a  sad  failure  of  touring;  and  of  all  other  sorts 
of  missionary  work,  will  find  the  way  to  success 
open  when  he  begins  to  spend  less  time  in  address- 
ing crowds,  and  less  in  trying  to  prove  theoretically 
that  Christianity  is  better  than  heathenism  or  self- 
seeking,  and  more  time  in  simply  hunting  up  hungry 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  137 

souls  and  bringing  them  inch  by  inch  nearer  to 
Christ,  without  telling  them  at  first  whereto  the 
sweet  and  narrow  way  of  love  leads  later  on.  For 
the  the  theory  of  right  and  the  theology  of  right 
often  perplex  men,  when  the  thought  of  simply  ''do- 
ing right,''  "with  help  from  above,"  draws  them 
nearer  and  nearer  to  the  unseen  God  and  Saviour, 
whose  name  as  yet  they  know  not,  or,  rather,  ut- 
terly misunderstand. 

And  although  my  father  believed  most  heartily  in 
addressing  large  audiences,  when  they  could  be  had 
in  a  quiet,  attentive  mood,  and  was  earnest  and  suc- 
cessful in  addressing  such  audiences — it  still  seems 
to  me  that  the  most  memorable  and  instructive  pirt 
of  his  life  was  his  skill  in  uplifting  souls  one  by  one, 
and  keeping  a  discussion,  either  public  or  private, 
from  running  off  into  unhelpful  and  untimely  chan- 
nels, or  becoming  a  mere  wrestle  for  superiority  in 
debate. 

NOT  HAVING  ENOUGH  OUTSTATIONS. 

Speaking  of  touring  suggests  yet  another  impor- 
tant problem;  namely  that  of  permanent  outstations. 
And  by  outstations  we  mean,  any  place,  where  reg- 
ular religious  work  is  being  carried  on,  for  at  least  a 
part  of  each  year,  by  some  resident  native  helper; 
but  not  including  places  which  are  simply  visited 
several  times  a  year,  or  are  in  the  circuit  of  some 
helper  who  lives  elsewhere,  but  visits  them  regularly 
every  week  or  two.* 

*In  such  eases  the  place  where  the  helper  works  most  would  be  the  outsta- 
tioD,  and  these  others  would  only  appear  in  the  list  ot  places  for  stated 
preaching. 


138  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

It  is  pleasant  to  see  how  the  importance  of  having 
a  goodly  number  of  such  outstations  is  being  more 
and  more  widely  felt,  all  over  the  missionary  world. 
For  when  a  missionary  settles  down  to  simply  labor- 
ing in  one  or  two  stations  (or  in  a  very  few  outsta- 
tions) the  danger  of  his  getting  into  ruts  is  very  great; 
and,  furthermore,  those  who  see  him  oftenest  are 
often  most  jealous  of  his  superiority,  (Matt.  13:57 
and  58.)  and  most  likely  to  be  over-sensitive  to  his 
faults;  while  those  who  meet  him  less  often  are  bet- 
ter able  to  do  him  justice,  and  give  his  message  due 
weight.  And  perhaps  most  important  of  all  is  the 
opportunity  which  a  large  outstation  work  gives  for 
that  reaching  of  leading  minds  of  which  we  have  al- 
ready spoken,  (page  124). 

Hence  one  of  the  most  noticeable  signs  of  prom- 
ise which  we  detect  in  looking  back  over  the  early 
history  of  the  Harpoot  work  is  the  steadily  increas- 
ing number  of  outstations  which  we  find  them  occu- 
pying, for  at  least  a  part  of  each  year,  the  average 
number  of  outstations  being  as  follows: 

1855  and  '56 One  outstation. 

1857  to '59 Six  outstations. 

i860  to '64 Thirteen  *' 

1865     Eighteen  ** 

1866     *Twenty-eight  " 

1867     Fifty-four 

1868  to  '75 Sixty-nine 

1876  to  '85 ||Sixty-one 

1886  to  '95 Fifty-six 

*In  this  year  Arabkir  and  its  six  outstations  were  put  under  the  care  of 
Harpoot. 
||For  explanation  of  this  fall  see  chapter  on  "Founding  Colleges." 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  139 

Surely  these  figures  point  to  a  vigorous  and  far 
reaching  work;  and  testify  to  some  of  the  fruits  of 
that  systematic  and  extensive  touring  of  which  we 
have  already  spoken;  and  of  that  careful  and  early 
training  up  of  faithful,  and  spiritually  minded, 
though  comparatively  illiterate,  native  helphers  of 
which  we  shall  speak  later  on. 

But  let  us  turn  now  and  take  a  look  at  all  the  mis- 
sions of  the  Board,  to  see  how  here  also  there  has 
been  a  steady  growth  in  the  relative  number  of  out- 
stations  occupied  from  year  to  year  per  missionary. 

Here  are  the  figures: 

From  1852  to  '57  there  was  only  one  outstation 
for  every  three  and  a  third  male  missionaries! 

From  1858  to  '60,  one  outstation  for  every  one 
and  a  third  missionaries. 

1861  to  '65,     1.3  outstations  to  each  missionary. 


1866  and  7, 

3- 

1868  to  '79, 

3-3 

1880  to  '84, 

4.15 

1885  to  '90, 

4.9 

1891  to  '96, 

57 

Surely  this  also  is  a  promising  sign  of  growth; 
and  yet  taking  the  figures  for  1896,  and  arranging 
them  by  missions,  we  find  that  this  growth  is  very 
unequally  distributed;  for  in  some  missions  each 
male  missionary  superintends  on  an  average  the 
work  of  five,  ten,  fifteen,  twenty  and  even  twenty- 
five  outstations;  while  in  others  there  are  only  two, 
three  or  four  outstations  to  each  missionary;  and 
in  some  even  less  than  one  outstation  per  mission- 
ary. 


140  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Surely  these  last  are  not  laying  their  foundations 
broad  enough;  and  are  not  properly  utilizing  the 
converts  God  has  given  them  as  a  means  of  reaching 
stillothers.  For,  according  to  their  own  showing, 
they  have  quite  a  good  many  "church  members" 
and  other  "adherents";  and  surely  some  of  these 
might  be  used  to  advantage  as  lay  workers,  or  as 
regular  preachers,  in  scattering  the  good  seed  more 
widely  and  less  expensively.  For  experience  shows 
that  one  foreign  missionary  with  four  or  five  care- 
fully inspired  and  beloved  and  superintended  native 
workers  can  easily  do  more  work  than  two  or  three 
missionaries  could  do,  without  such  help;  and  do  it 
at  much  less  cost. 

HOW  MANY    MISSIONARIES   SHOULD   THERE  BE 
AT  EACH  STATION? 

We  now  come  to  another  point  to  which  the  Har- 
poot  missionaries  attached  a  good  deal  of  impor- 
tance; namely,  that  no  mission  station  can  be  prop- 
erly manned  with  less  than  three  male  missionaries. 
—  This  point,  in  just  the  form  in  which  Dr.  Wheeler 
stated  it,  may  not  be  strictly  true;  but  this  much  at 
least  seems  clear,  that  ordinarily,  other  things  being 
equal,  the  stations  where  two  or  three  male  mission- 
aries work  together  are  more  likely  to  lay  their  work 
out  on  a  large  scale,  and  reap  a  larger  harvest  of 
success. —  While  missions  in  which  the  missionaries 
are  more  scattered,  seem,  so  far  as  we  are  able  to 
judge,  to  do  the  work  on  a  much  smaller  scale;  and 
run  a  much  greater  risk  of  settling  down  into  mere 
local  city  missionaries  or  pastors,  which,  as  we  have 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  141 

tried  to  show  under  "Touring"  and  "Reaching  Lead- 
ing Minds,"  is  always  unfortunate,  as  the  more  far- 
reaching  work  is  what  the  foreign  field  most  needs. 
It  is  also  noticeable  that  there  has  been  a  change 
in  this  respect  in  the  missions  of  the  Board.  The 
average  number  of  missionaries  at  each  station  from 
1836  to  '66,  being  about  1.5  to  each  station;  while 
the  average  number  for  the  last  ten  years  is  2.01  for 
each  station,  showing  a  marked  tendency  to  place 
more  men  at  a  station  than  formerly.  Or  taking  it 
by  missions,  we  find  five  missions  with  thirty-four 
missionaries  that  seem  to  strongly  favor  the  one  man 
plan;  for  they  have  thirty-one  stations  for  their 
thirty-four  men.  While  fifteen  other  missions,  with 
nearly  five-sixths  of  the  inissionaries  of  the  Board, 
favor  having  more  men  at  a  station;  for  they  have 
only  66  stations  for  163  men,  which  gives  an  average 
of  2.47  men  to  each  station. —  Clearly  then  public 
opinion,  in  the  missions  of  the  Board,  is  strongly  op- 
posed to  the  one  man  plan;  and  if  it  has  any  special 
benefits,  they  are  wholly  local,  or  else  have  been 
very  generally  overlooked.  We  should  be  glad  to 
have  those  who  still  believe  in  the  one  man  plan, 
once  so  common,  tell  us  which  it  is? 

HAVING  TOO  MANY   MISSIONARIES   AT  SOME 
STATIONS. 

But  there  is  also  another  extreme  to  be  guarded 
against,  namely  having  too  many  missionaries  at  a 
station;  this  being  an  error  into  which  prosperous 
and  important  stations  are  specially  likely  to  fall; 
and  one  which  the  home   Board,  through  its  secre- 


142  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

taries,,  needs  to  guard  against  most  carefully.  —  For 
when  a  station  gets  too  many  missionaries  four  things 
are  almost  sure  to  happen. 

First,  the  missionaries  find  it  a  great  deal  harder 
to  plan  their  work  so  as  to  really  give  each  one  a  full 
man's  or  woman's  share  of  ivork  that  really  needs  to  be 
done,  and  do7te  by  a  foreigner. 

Secondly,  it  becomes  harder  to  overcome  that  in- 
evitable friction  between  energetic  souls,  which  can- 
not be  properly  overcome,  unless  each  can  easily  lay 
hands,  without  too  much  planning,  on  plenty  of  good 
hard  work  which  the  missionary  is  sure  he  or  she 
ought  to  do.  Then  will  each  one  be  enthusiastic, 
and  full  of  congenial  work,  into  which  they  can  enter 
most  heartily;  and  friction  can  be  easily  overcome; 
or  else  made  a  source  of  mutual  blessing,  rather  than 
the  hindrance  which  it  too  often  is. 

Thirdly,  in  a  station  where  there  are  too  many  mis- 
sionaries, there  is  more  danger  of  the  missionaries 
doing  themselves  many  things  which  could  be  more 
wisely  committed  to  the  hands  of  the  missionaries' 
native  helpers  —  who  need  the  practice  of  doing  just 
such  work,  and  in  the  end  could  learn  to  do  it  just 
as  well  (under  missionary  leadership)  as  the  mission- 
ary would  do  it  himself,  provided  the  work  is  really 
suited  to  the  needs  of  the  people  and  place. 

And,  fourthly,  a  station  too  strongly  manned  with 
workers  from  abroad  is  sure  to  absorb  some  workers 
who  are  More  Needed  Elsewhere  in  the  Lord's 
vineyard.  And  whenever  a  prosperous  mission  or 
station  calls  for  "more  men"  or  "more  women,"  the 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  143 

First  Question  to  be  asked  and  answered  is,  Could 
they  not  get  along  without  the  extra  man  or  woman 
and  still  do  just  as  great  a  work  in  essentials,  if  they 
were  to  modify  some  of  their  plans  and  ways  of  work- 
ing, so  as  not  to  need  so  many  costly,  foreign  work- 
men? 

For  experience  shows  that  with  us  all  the  tempta- 
tion is  to  cry,  "Oh  for  more  time,  more  hands,  more 
helpers,"  when  really  our  most  urgent  need  is  More 
Skill.  Nor  is  this  a  slur  on  any  one;  for  under 
proper  pressure,  and  with  a  little  outside  help,  the 
most  skilful  workmen  are  always  the  ones  who  are 
best  able  to  become  yet  more  skilful,  and  thus  lead 
on  toward  a  more  and  more  perfect  understanding 
of  the  problem  of  missions,  and  the  best  ways  of  do- 
ing missionary  work. 

For  the  more  we  study  Dr.  Wheeler's  life,  and  the 
lives  and  doings  of  scores  of  other  missionaries,  the 
more  deeply  are  we  impressed  with  the  fact  that 
missionary  work  is  a  growing  work;  one  in  which 
the  workers  are  ever  making  new  discoveries,  and 
working  out  new  problems  for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  come  after  them;  —  and  we  should  be  careful 
not  to  let  bigness  of  work  and  manyness  of  mission- 
aries interfere  for  a  single  moment  with  that  steady 
growth  in  skill,  which  is  so  marked  a  feature  of  the 
best  missionary  work  all  over  the  world. 

For,  as  in  a  first  class  fruit  farm,  or  flower  garden, 
great  care  is  taken  not  to  have  too  many  flowers  or 
apples  or  peaches  grow  from  any  one  root,  just  so  on 
mission  soil  the  best  results  will  be  attained,  if  the 
missionary  is  careful  not  to  branch  out  into  new  lines 


144  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

of  work  too  rapidly.  Yet,  like  all  other  successful 
men,  he  finds  it  hard  to  remember  this;  and  needs  a 
little  kindly  restraint;  until  he  shall  have  clearly  jus- 
tified his  larger  and  more  costly  plans. 

FOUR   STAGES  IN   MISSIONARY  WORK. 

And  now,  in  closing  the  discussion,  let  us  once 
more  take  a  bird's  eye  view  of  the  whole  field.  We 
shall  find  missionary  work  in  four  stages;  the  exper- 
imental or  pioneer  stage,  the  unsuccessful  stage,  the 
active  or  progressive  stage,  and  the  finishing  stage. 

In  the  first  of  these,  the  experimental  stage,  a 
whole  district  may  properly  be  committed  to  a  single 
missionary's  care;  for  the  simple  reason  that  exper- 
iments are  generally  most  instructive  and  econom- 
ical, when  not  made  on  too  large  a  scale.  Precision 
and  accuracy  of  observation  counting  for  more  than 
the  bigness  of  the  experiment. 

But  even  such  pioneer  missionaries  should  be 
members  of  some  more  settled  station,  not  too  far 
away;  and  should  return  there  from  time  to  time  for 
the  change  of  work,  and  change  of  atmosphere, 
which  they  so  much  need,  to  keep  themselves  in 
touch  with  other  aggressive  Christian  workers. 

In  the  second  stage,  which  we  have  called  the  un- 
successful stage,  most  of  the  work  in  a  given  district 
should  probably  be  still  left  in  the  hands  of  one  man; 
as  a  single  doctor,  after  properly  consulting  with 
others,  can  generally  do  more  for  a  dangerously  sick 
community  than  two  or  three  doctors  could,  taking 
turns, —  But  even  here  the  missionary  doctor,  so  to 
speak,  should   have  his  home  and  headquarters  at 


LESSONS  FROM  EXPERIENCE.  145 

some  station  where  he  can  often  consult  at  great 
length  with  other  colleagues,  engaged  like  himself 
in  some  form  of  missionary  work. 

Then  comes  the  active,  or  progressive  stage,  when 
the  work  is  well  started,  and  a  healthy  hunger  for 
righteousness  and  knowledge  has  been  fairly  wak- 
ened. At  this  stage  the  best  work  can  be  done,  if 
two  or  three  missionaries  have  coextensive  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  same  field;  each  having,  if  possible, 
some  special  line,  and  yet  all  co-operating  in  the 
more  general  parts  of  the  work. 

Of  hints  for  this  stage  of  the  work,  this  book  is  full. 
We  may  then  pass  on  to  the  fourth,  or  finishing  stage. 
—  To  this  stage  apply  very  emphatically  all  the  cau- 
tions as  to  not  sacrificing  quality  to  bigness,  by  mak- 
ing "improvements"  too  rapidly,  or  mere  learning  to 
truly  helpful  scholarship,  of  which  we  have  spoken 
in  other  parts  of  the  book. 

But  the  question  for  most  of  us  is  not,  How  to  fin- 
ish the  work?  but  How  to  bring  it  steadily  nearer  to 
completeness  and  purity.  This  done,  the  finishing 
stage  will  surely  come  in  due  time,  and  bring  its  own 
needed  light  with  it. 

And,  finally,  however  much  it  may  be  best  that 
the  different  missionaries  should  subdivide  the  work 
between  them,  and  in  the  experimental  and  unsuc- 
cessful stages  should  even  divide  up  their  fields  of 
labor  (though  residing  together)  —  it  still  remains 
true  that  a  few  well  manned  stations  will  accomplish 
vastly  more  for  Christ  and  the  world  than  a  much 
larger  number  of  weak  ones;  and  the  number  of  oc- 

(10) 


146  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

cupied  stations  in  a  mission  should  be  strictly  de- 
pendent on  the  number  of  available  men,  and  not  on 
the  merely  apparent  benefit  of  seeming  to  hold  our 
own  in  a  lot  of  "important  centers,"  many  of  which 
we  cannot  man  properly.  Though  as  mere  substa- 
tions, to  be  often  visited  by  some  missionary  with  a 
view  to  future  occupation,  if  best  and  possible,  these 
points  might  be  profitably  and  economically  culti- 
vated. For  the  gains  of  such  a  plan  would  vastly 
outweigh  the  slight  loss  of  time  and  prestige  which 
would  result  from  joining  them  temporarily  or  per- 
manently onto  some  stronger  station,  and  changing 
the  mouse's  head  into  a  lion's  tail. 


CHAPTER  X. 

PLANTING    CHURCHES;     AND    TEACHING 
THEM  HOW  TO   WORK. 


That  the  object  of  Christian  missions  is  the  con- 
version of  men  to  Christ,  and  putting  within  the 
reach  of  all  men  the  richness  of  love  and  peace 
which  such  conversion  implies,  is  undoubtedly  true. 
—  But  when  it  comes  to  converting  men,  we  soon 
find  that  here,  as  elsewhere,  some  ways  of  working 
are  more  successful  than  others;  producing  a  purer 
and  stronger  type  of  Christian  life,  and  one  that  is 
more  likely  to  hold  its  own  and  be  a  self-propagat- 
ing power  for  good  in  years  to  come.  And  among 
the  earliest  and  most  important  of  these  lessons  is 
the  discovery,  made  long  ago,  and  applied  so  suc- 
cessfully in  the  early  Christian  church,  that  union  is 
power;  and  that  believers,  by  joining  hands,  can  ac- 
complish far  more  than  by  working  singly,  or  each 
one  independently. 

Thus  originated  the  Christian  church,  when  once 
the  Jewish  church,  in  which  Christ  worked,  had,  as 
a  church,  despised  his  message  and  forced  a  sepa- 
ration. 

In  form  it  has  changed  from  time  to  time,  and  is 
undoubtedly  destined  to  change  even  more  in  years 
147 


148  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

to  come  than  it  has  changed  thus  far;  for  the  needs 
of  one  generation  and  one  epoch  are  not  in  all  re- 
spects the  same  as  those  of  another,  and  a  very- 
slight  change  of  form  often  makes  an  institution 
seem  very  different  to  a  hasty  observer. 

But  this  much  will  always  be  true  of  every  living 
church,  wherever  found,  and  however  changed  in 
polity  or  plan;  it  will  always  be  a  body  of  Christians 
closely  joined  together  for  Christian  work,  especially 
those  forms  of  Christian  work  of  which  the  outside 
world  does  not  recognize  the  importance. 

Such  churches  must  be  formed  wherever  the  mis- 
sionary goes,  as  soon  as  enough  truly  converted 
men  are  found  to  do  the  work,  and  share  the  bless- 
ing. And  any  failure  to  organize  such  churches  is 
sure  to  result  in  the  partial  loss  of  a  great  deal  of 
good  seed,  which  might  have  been  made  to  yield  an 
abundant  harvest. 

Thus  far  Mr.  Wheeler  agreed  closely  with  others. 
But  early  in  his  missionary  life  we  find  him  joining 
a  body  of  earnest  thinkers  and  workers  who  were 
bold  enough  to  claim  that  as  yet  missionary  churches 
had  not  been  organized  on  quite  the  right  basis,  and 
so  were  much  weaker  than  they  need  be.  And 
in  so  saying  he  seems  to  have  voiced  the  opinion  of 
a  majority  of  the  more  progressive  missionaries  of 
the  Board  all  over  the  world,  at  that  time.  But  in 
the  power  to  find  out  remedies  and  apply  them,  and 
in  the  knack  of  overcoming  difificulties,  he  seems  to 
have  far  surpassed  most  of  his  contemporaries;  and 
hence  it  is  that  his  finished  life  is  such  a  rich  mine  of 
suggestion  and  example  for  the  use  of  others  gifted 


PLANTING  CHURCHES.  149 

with  less  inventive  power,  but  equally  impressed 
with  the  need  of  improvements.  While  those  who 
are  like  him  gifted  with  inventive  power,  will  also 
find  in  his  thoughts  and  methods  much  that  will  help 
them  in  going  even  farther  than  he  himself  has  gone. 

CONDITIONS  OF  CHURCH   MEMBERSHIP. 

Coming  then  to  the  details  of  church  organization, 
the  first  point  on  which  we  find  his  example  specially 
instructive  is  the  great  care  which  he  and  his  col- 
leagues exercised,  in  forming  their  churches,  to  favor 
the  admission  of  only  those  who  gave  the  clearest 
evidences  of  a  change  of  heart,  and  of  a  genuine 
longing  to  become  more  like  Christ.  In  this  their 
practice  was  not  at  all  distinctive,  for  hundreds  of  oth- 
ers have  been  just  as  careful;  but  the  point  is  one  of 
such  extreme  importance  that  it  needs  to  be  ever 
kept  at  the  front;  and  even  those  who  are  most  care- 
ful will  find  themselves  at  times  strangely  tempted 
to  lower  the  bars  —  in  the  interests  of  what  seems  to 
be  a  '"larger  charity,"  but  is  in  reality  only  a  blinder 
and  more  short-sighted  charity.  For  it  is  sure  to 
bring  disaster  to  the  church  as  a  whole  and  also  to 
every  individual  who  is  admitted  to  its  membership 
too  hastily. 

For  any  man  who  is  not  clearly  on  the  Lord's  side 
is  only  injured  by  being  admitted  to  a  fellowship 
which  assumes  that  he  is  a  Christian,  when  he  is  not. 
While  the  occasional  keeping  out  of  some  true 
Christians  who  do  not  yet  give  clear  enough  evi- 
dence of  conversion,  will  do  them  no  harm;  if  they 
are  only  treated  just  as  tenderly  and  fairly  outside  as 


150  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

they  would  be  inside,  and  are  made  to  feel  that  they 
will  be  welcome,  as  soon  as  their  lives  afford  the  de- 
sired evidence. 

LOCAL  CHURCHES  VERSUS    UNION  CHURCHES. 

Going  a  step  farther,  we  find  that  instead  of  form- 
ing a  lot  of  weak,  local  churches  Mr.  Wheeler  and 
his  colleagues  adopted  the  plan  of  forming  union 
churches;  in  which  members  from  many  different 
localities  joined,  the  church  being  naturally  located 
at  some  point  which  furnished  a  sufficient  number 
of  members  to  make  a  strong,  live  nucleus.* 

Thus  were  the  benefits  of  church  fellowship  real- 
ized at  a  very  early  date,  without  the  serious  evils 
which  come  from  organizing  weak  and  helpless 
churches,  without  proper  leaders  and  without  any 
proper  realization  of  the  importance  of  Christian  in- 
dustry and  self-consecration  as  a  sine  qua  non  of 
Christian  peace  and  blessing. 

MAKING  THE  SACRAMENTS  TOO  PROMINENT. 

For  in  the  Orient,  even  more  than  in  the  Occi- 
dent, the  mere  externals  of  religion  (baptism,  church 
membership  and  the  Lord's  supper)  are  in  constant 
danger  of  becoming  substitutes  for  godliness,  in- 
stead of  helps  to  godliness;  and  for  that  reason 
should  be  steadily  kept  in  the  background,  until  the 
deeper  facts  of  godliness  and  goodness  and  self-con- 
secration have  been  properly  emphasized  and  put  in 
practice,  in  a  manly,  self-sacrificing  way.      And  so 

•At  one  time  the  Harpoot  city  church  had  in  this  way  members  from  nine 
different  places;  many  of  which  afterwards  became  centers  of  independent, 
local  churches. 


PLANTING  CHURCHES.  151 

the  missionaries  were  careful  to  offer  the  sacraments 
of  baptism  and  the  Lord's  supper  only  to  those  who 
were  willing  to  go  beyond  mere  professions  and  be- 
gin to  work  heartily  and  give  generously  for  the 
gospel  work  in  their  midst;  thus  insuring  to  the 
churches  a  more  healthy  and  vigorous  growth.  For 
this  naturally  led  on  the  following  simple  rule:  If 
you  want  full  and  formal  recognition  as  Christians, 
you  should  first  come  together  and  choose  some 
one  to  act  as  your  pastor  and  helper  and  servant  in 
these  things;  for  we,  like  Paul,  feel  ourselves  called 
to  the  work  of  simple  evangelizing  and  preaching 
(i  Cor.  1:14  to  17),  rather  than  to  work  which  a  set- 
tled pastor  could  do  so  much  better  than  we.* 

PASTORLESS  CHURCHES. 

Hence  we  find  the  Harpoot  missionaries  laying 
great  stress  on  the  importance  of  furnishing  every 
church  with  a  properly  trained  native  pastor.  But 
why?  Simply  because  experience  the  world  over 
shows  that  any  social  movement  without  recog- 
nized leaders  soon  dies  out,  or  becomes  very  weak. 
And  why  a  native  pastor?  Why  not  a  foreign  pas- 
tor (i.  e.  a  missionary?) 

First,  because  missionary  pastors  are  too  costly; 
secondly,  because  they  are  too  scarce;  thirdly,  be- 
cause they  can  do  far  more  good  as  general  leaders, 
starters,  trainers  and  organizers;    fourthly,  because 

♦And  our  Lord  Jesus,  though  evidently  approving  of  baptism,  seems  to  have 
also  felt  that  it  should  not  be  made  too  prominent;  for  we  are  explicitly  told 
that  "Jesus  himself  baptized  not;"  though  his  disciples  did  (John  4:1  and  2.) 
Certainly  a  most  instructive  picture;  both  in  what  it  teaches  as  to  the  im- 
portance of  baptism  and  also  its  relative  unimportance,  and  the  danger  of 
making  too  much  of  it. 


152  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

experience  shows  that  even  a  very  illiterate  native 
understands  many  of  the  detailed  every  day  wants 
and  temptations  of  the  people  far  better  than  even  the 
ablest,  kindest  and  best  educated  missionary  any 
where  round;  and  finally,  because  the  constant  re- 
sponsibility and  joy  of  training  up  and  selecting 
leaders  from  their  own  number,  and  from  their  own 
sons  and  daughters,  is  a  constant  inspiration  to  the 
churches,  without  which  their  life  would  be  sadly 
crippled  and  dwarfed. 

Surely  these  five  reasons,  carefully  weighed,  will 
clearly  prove  the  importance  of  relying  on  native 
pastors  rather  than  on  missionaries  for  the  detailed 
pastoral  care  of  individual  churches  on  missionary 
ground.  And  theoretically  this  is  pretty  generally 
admitted;  though  practically  a  close  observer  can 
see  that  many  missionaries  still  fall  more  or  less  in- 
to the  old  error  of  themselves  settling  down  into 
mere  pastoral  work,  to  the  great  detriment  of  the 
people  they  are  working  for. 

And  yet,  although  the  apostle  Paul  was  so  careful 
to  ordain  elders  in  every  church,  (Acts  14:23  and 
Titus  1:5,)  missionaries  in  the  early  part  of  this  cen- 
tury seem  to  have  very  generally  supposed  that  their 
churches  could  not  be  safely  committed  to  the  care 
of  native  pastors;  and  in  1839  we  find  an  officer  of 
the  Board  writing  thus  of  the  Sandwich  Islands: 
"There  is  not  one  person  among  the  twelve  thou- 
sand native  church  members  who  is  sufficiently  edu- 
cated and  experienced  to  be  ordained  as  pastor  of 
the  smallest  native  church."* 

♦Report  for  1839,  p.  172. 


PLANTING  CHURCHES.  153 

And  thirty  years  later,  in  1869,  Dr.  Anderson 
writes:  "It  is  only  a  few  years  since  the  discovery 
was  made  that  native  pastors  form  an  essential  ele- 
ment in  native  churches."  Only  we  should  call  it  a 
rediscovery,  rather  than  a  discovery.  For  without 
it  the  early  Christian  church  could  never  have 
spread  and  worked  as  it  did. 

Of  course  native  pastors  will  make  some  mistakes, 
which  the  missionary  would  not;  and  the  problem 
of  how  to  best  train  native  pastors  and  helpers  for 
their  work  has  not  as  yet  been  fully  solved;  but  even 
with  such  faulty  training  as  we  have  been  able  to 
give  them  now,  they  greatly  multiply  the  mission- 
ary's power,  and  have  been  most  abundantly  blessed 
of  God. 

SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

We  now  come  to  the  doctrine  which  probably 
more  than  any  other  has  made  the  work  in  Harpoot 
famous  in  the  history  of  missions;  namely,  the  as- 
sertion that,  in  any  properly  conducted  missionary 
work,  the  native  churches  must  be  taught  to  take 
upon  themselves  the  support  of  most  of  their  gospel 
institutions  —  and  the  practical  demonstration  that 
the  churches  can  be  taught  to  do  this  far  more  rap- 
idly than  had  commonly  been  supposed  possible. 
At  scores  of  other  points  the  Harpoot  mission  policy 
is  full  of  suggestiveness,  and  of  evidences  of  a  large 
and  clear  insight  into  many  things;  but  her  most 
distinctive  message,  the  one  in  which  she  has  dif- 
fered most  from  other  stations,  is  the  way  in  which 
she  has  plead  for  self-support,  and  shown  that  teach- 


154  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

ing  the  people  to  give  is  not  a  mere  matter  of  dol- 
lars and  cents,  —  but  a  vital  element  in  Christian 
growth,  and  one  without  which  no  church  can  ever 
be  strong  and  healthy. 

But  as  the  question  is  a  large  and  complicated 
one,  we  reserve  it  for  discussion  in  a  later  chapter, 
only  calling  attention  to  it  here  that  no  one  may 
read  this  chapter  without  also  reading  the  other. 

CAN  THE  CHURCHES  RULE  THEMSELVES? 

Any  one  who  reads  this  book  through  will  not  be 
surprised  to  learn  that  Mr.  Wheeler  also  believed  in 
letting  self-supporting  churches  rule  themselves; 
and  in  this  we  cannot  but  feel  that  he  was  right. 
For  a  well-grown  church  will  learn  wisdom  much 
faster  by  experience  (pleasant  and  unpleasant)  than 
it  will  by  being  simply  kept  in  leading  strings. 

And  even  before  a  church  reaches  full  self-sup- 
port, he  believed  in  letting  it,  for  the  most  part, 
manage  its  own  affairs;  considering  that  an  oc- 
casional veto  power  for  use  in  extreme  cases  and 
the  moral  right  to  protest,  suggest  and  plead,  was 
all  that  it  was  ordinarily  necessary  for  the  mission- 
ary to  use. —  Thus  were  the  churches  taught  to  think 
and  plan  for  themselves,  both  singly  and  as  a  united 
body;  and  the  times  of  trial  from  within  and  from 
without  through  which  they  have  since  passed  seem 
to  show  strikingly  the  good  effects  of  this  policy, 
though  also  revealing  some  incidental  defects  which 
need  correcting;  but  to  have  given  the  churches  less 
freedom  would  only  have  made  these  defects  great- 
er, and  not  less. 


PLANTING  CHURCHES.  155 

Though  it  probably  is  true  that  the  missionaries 
should  have  more  carefully  maintained  their  own 
independence  in  their  own  affairs;  for  letting  you 
manage  your  affairs,  and  heartily  welcoming  your 
suggestions  as  to  mine,  does  not  involve  your  right 
to  manage  mine;  and  we  are  inclined  to  think  that 
time  will  show  that,  in  their  zeal  for  cooperation, 
our  missionaries  abroad  have  of  late  years  some- 
times forgotten  this  important  distinction.  But  of 
this  we  shall  speak  later. 

LARGE  AND  SMALL  CHURCHES. 

But  shall  we  favor  the  formation  of  large  churches? 
especially  in  important  centers?  To  these  ques- 
tions, under  existing  conditions,  Mr.  Wheeler  gave 
an  emphatic  negative  for  an  answer;  having  noticed 
that  large  churches  are  apt  to  lose  in  spirituality 
what  they  gain  in  size.*  Nor  did  he  favor  having  a 
fine  church  building,  "because  the  Jesuits  have  one, 
and  we  must  keep  up  our  prestige,"  as  some  have 
done.  For  a  little  church,  even  middling  full  of 
spirituality  and  love,  will  influence  the  community 
more  than  a  large  one  that  has  entered  the  wild, 
blind  race  for  bigness,  wealth  and  fashion.  —  And, 
curiously  enough,  if  we  leave  out  a  few  exceptional- 
ly rich  churches,  the  statistics  of  our  American 
churches  seem  to  show  that,  even  in  the  much 
boasted  matter  of  benevolence,  very  large  churches 
ordinarily  give  \qs?> per  member  ihdiU.  smaller  churches, 
provided  the  smaller  churches  are  not  so  small  as 
to  be  positively  weak. 

*The  test  question  being,  not  How  many  lovely  Christians  are  there  in 
your  church?  but  What  proportion  of  your  members  are  such? 


156  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Hence  he  favored  the  dividing  of  churches,  far 
more  than  uniting  them;  considering  even  the  union 
churches  of  which  we  have  spoken  as  a  mere  tempo- 
rary expedient,  to  be  subdivided  as  soon  as  possible; 
even  as  a  gardener  often  subdivides  his  choicest 
plants,  and  gets  in  consequence  a  larger  harvest  of 
beauty  and  of  sweetness. 

TEACHING  CHURCHES  HOW  TO  WORK. 

We  now  come  to  another  point  to  which  Mr. 
Wheeler  attached  great  importance,  namely,  that 
every  church  should  be  a  body  of  Workers,  each  of 
whom  has  a  special  work  to  do  for  the  Master. 

Nor  did  he  think  of  this  service  as  consisting  sim- 
ply, or  chiefly,  in  the  more  public  duties,  such  as  help- 
ing in  church  work,  supporting  church  institutions, 
etc.;  but  rather  as  including  all  the  details  of  every- 
day life  and  work.  And  although  we  cannot  but 
feel  that  he  did  not  sufficiently  realize  how  many  be- 
wildering difficulties  beset  this  path  of  daily  service, 
nor  how  often  ignorance  and  not  perversity  (I  Tim. 
1:13)  is  the  cause  of  men's  stumbling  and  falling,  yet 
this  much  is  certain;  that  the  thought  of  daily  ser- 
vice, as  a  test  of  Christian  character,  was  one  on 
which  he  dwelt  very  frequently;  the  thought  of  it  in- 
spiring and  thrilling  his  life,  in  all  its  stronger  and 
nobler  moments;  and  almost  haunting  it  in  some 
weaker  moods,  —  so  searching,  and  so  many-sided 
was  it. 

And  in  this  thought  of  serving  others,  day  by  day, 
lay  one  of  the  prime  causes  of  hisusefulness  and  pow- 
er; and  we  believe  that  it  is  along  this  line  that  the 


PLANTING  CHURCHES.  157 

church  will  enjoy  its  largest  growth  in  years  to  come; 
though  the  blessing  cannot  become  at  all  general, 
until  those  who  believe  in  a  higher  Christian  life 
learn  to  speak  of  it  more  quietly  and  wisely;  and  are 
more  careful  to  avoid  extravagant  and  strained  inter- 
pretations of  scripture. 

For  as  I  look  back  and  see  how  steadily  my  father 
believed  in  this  higher  daily  life;  and  urged  men  to 
press  on  toward  it;  I  am  impressed  with  the  quietness 
with  which  he  did  it;  thus  avoiding  many  needless 
mistakes,  and  making  it  harder  for  hypocrites  to 
gain  influence  in  the  churches  by  counterfeiting  this 
higher  life.— And  as  his  life  was  full  of  this  thought, 
so  too  is  this  book;  in  which  we  have  tried  to  catch 
and  reproduce  the  atmosphere  of  that  life. 

And  yet  where  we  have  praised  and  admired,  we 
cannot  but  add  one  word  of  criticism;  that  the  truth 
for  which  Mr.  Wheeler  lived  and  pleaded  so  earnest- 
ly and  so  concretely,  may  be  seen  as  clearly  and 
fully  as  possible  by  those  who  come  after,  and  may 
be  appliecl  more  easily.  And  the  criticism  is  this: 
The  churches,  or  rather  the  individual  members, 
were  not  helped  in  finding  a  sufficient  variety  of 
ways  of  serving  the  Lord.  It  was  too  often  taken 
for  granted  that  the  love  of  God  once  planted  in  a 
human  soul  will  enable  it  to  find  plenty  of  ways  of 
expressing  that  love,  and  expressing  it  wisely.  But 
such  is  not  the  case;  for  a  dull  man  generally  makes 
a  dull  Christian;  a  hasty  man  makes  a  hasty  Chris- 
tian, and  a  weak  man  makes  a  weak  Christian.  For 
Christianity  does  not  suddenly  make  the  man  all 
over;  it  simply  gives  him  a  life-long  and  mighty  lift 
in  the  right  direction. 


158  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Hence  do  we  look  forward  with  great  eagerness 
to  a  time,  not  far  distant,  when  true  pastoral  work, 
as  distinguished  from  mere  preaching  and  social 
calls,  shall  become  more  of  a  skilled  profession, 
both  here  and  in  foreign  lands. —  And  when  that 
time  comes,  the  ideal  for  which  Mr.  Wheeler  plead- 
ed so  earnestly  will  be  more  fully  realized  in  this 
and  other  lands. 

And  as  we  see  in  God's  church  and  world  changes 
going  on  which  perplex  and  trouble  us,  let  us  re- 
member that,  however  much  of  human  perversity 
may  enter  into  them,  they  all  have  a  deeper  meaning] 
and  point,  in  a  groping  and  blundering  way,  to  some 
real  need  in  human  nature,  as  now  situated,  which 
we  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  meeting  as  fully  as  we 
should. 

LOCAL  HOME  MISSIONARY  SOCIETIES. 

But  coming  back  again  to  problems  more  simple, 
and  less  vast,  we  find  that  early  in  the  history  of  the 
Harpoot  work  Local  Home  Missionary  Societies  were 
formed  in  a  good  many  towns  for  the  circulation  of 
the  Scriptures  and  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel;  the 
object  of  these  societies  being  not  the  raising  of 
money  to  send  others,  but  the  sending  out  of  volun- 
teers from  their  own  number  to  visit  neighboring 
towns  and  cities,  ten,  twenty  and  even  thirty  some- 
times going  out  for  such  work,  from  a  single  town,  in 
a  single  week. 

Thus  were  Saturday  afternoon  and  Sunday  busy 
days  indeed  for  these  good  workers;  who  like  the 
priests  of  old  (Matt.   12:5)  had  to  find  their  rest  on 


PLANTING  CHURCHES.  159 

some  other  day  of  the  week.  And  in  this  way  the 
good  seed  was  scattered  much  more  rapidly,  widely 
and  effectively  than  it  could  have  been,  had  the  work 
all  been  done  by  the  missionaries,  or  by  such  few 
paid  workers  as  they  could  find  and  wisely  employ. 
For  many  a  man  who  can  testify  for  Christ  by  word 
of  mouth  occasionally,  and  do  it  very  well,  would  make 
poor  work  of  it,  if  placed  where  he  must  give  all  or 
most  of  his  time  to  the  same  work. 

But  as  time  went  on,  and  some  became  much  more 
skilful  than  others  in  the  presentation  of  truth,  there 
came  an  inevitable  change;  and  many,  who  in  earlier 
years  had  dared  to  talk  freely  to  any  one  and  every 
one,  became  more  timid  and  silent.  Nor  was  the 
change  one  to  be  regretted;  for  a  time  had  come, 
in  the  progress  of  Christ's  kingdom,  when  such  silent 
witnesses  were  even  more  needed  than  talkative 
ones. 

And  yet  there  would  have  been  a  loss,  had  not 
many  of  the  churches  begun  at  this  time  to  contrib- 
ute of  their  sons  and  their  daughters,  their  money 
and  their  prayers,  for  a  more  formal  kind  of  home 
missionary  work,  —  namely,  the  sending  of  mission- 
aries, from  their  own  number,  to  Koordistan,  one  of 
the  most  neglected  corners  of  their  own  country. 
Thus  was  the  missionary  spirit  kept  alive;  though 
we  cannot  but  feel  that  it  would  have  been  better 
still,  if  in  addition  to  this  work  in  Koordistan  they 
had  taken  a  more  active  part  in  watching,  advising 
and  helping  financially  some  of  the  weaker  Christian 
communities  right  in  their  own  midst. 


i6o  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Native  Foreign  Missionary  Societies. 

We  have  also  been  sorry  to  see  how  little  the 
churches  of  the  Board,  either  in  Turkey  or  anywhere 
else,  now  give  for  strictly  foreign  missionary  work 
in  other  parts  of  the  world.  The  story  is  well  worth 
telling.  —  Way  back  in  1848,  we  find  the  native 
Christians,  in  mission  lands,  contributing  about 
$1650.00  a  year  to  the  treasury  of  the  Board;  China 
contributing  money  for  use  in  Turkey,  and  Turkey 
sending  its  offering  for  use  in  China.  But  ten  years 
later,  in  18^8,  we  find  the  native  Christians  giving 
only  ;Si300.00.  While  after  another  period  of  ten 
years,  in  1868,  we  find  a  still  farther  falling  off,  they 
having  contributed  only  $900.00  for  the  Board's 
work  in  other  lands;  and  in  1877  only  $6oo.oo;  while 
in  1889  it  had  fallen  still  lower  and  was  only  about 
$500.00.*  —  And  yet  in  the  meanwhile  the  number 
of  native  churches  had  increased  many  fold;  so  that 
$500.00  meant  relatively  less  than  $50.00  would  have 
meant  forty  years  before. 

And  pray  why  this  curious  change?  and  why  this 
great  falling  off?  One  reason  is  not  far  to  seek. 
In  1848  the  idea  of  self-supporting  native  churches 
was  hardly  dreamed  of,  except  as  an  ideal  for  some 
distant  future.  But  in  1858  it  was  being  dreamt  of, 
and  in  1868  there  were  in  the  missions  of  the  Board 
many  single  churches  that  were  wholly  self-support- 
ing; and  many  other  communities  in  which  a  good 
beginning  had  been  made  toward  self-support;  and 

*We  take  1877  and  '89  instead  of  '78  and  '88  because  we  are  unable  to  get 
figures  just  ten  years  apart. 


PLANTING  CHURCHES.  i6i 

since  then  the  number  of  wholly  or  largely  self-sup- 
porting Christian  communities  has  steadily  increased; 

—  and  so  the  missionaries  fell  into  the  natural  mis- 
take of  supposing  that  in  order  to  make  self-support 
possible  and  easy,  they  ought  to  excuse  the  people 
from  contributing  for  work  in  heathen  lands. 

But  even  though  this  mistake  was  a  natural  one,  it 
would  be  most  unfortunate  if  it  should  become  per- 
manent; for  our  mission  churches,  like  the  churches 
of  the  homeland,  need  the  broadening  and  uplifting 
that  comes  from  taking  a  hearty  brotherly  interest 
in  other  lands,  and  other  climes,  far  away  from  home; 

—  and  the  habit  of  giving,  according  to  their  ability, 
for  this  larger  work  would  tend  to  make  them  more 
grateful  for  the  help  that  comes  to  themselves,  and 
better  able  to  understand  the  reasons  why  the  Board 
has  to  be  so  careful  not  to  spend  too  much  on  any 
one  mission  or  station;  and  is  so  often  obliged  to  re- 
ject requests  which  in  themselves  would  be  perfectly 
proper,  if  only  the  need  in  other  lands  were  not  so 
urgent. 

And  even  self-support  would  make  more  rapid 
progress  than  it  has,  if  this  privilege  of  giving  for  the 
heathen  were  oftener  pressed  home  upon  the  churches 
we  form.  For  a  church  which  simply  looks  out  for 
itself  and  its  own  wants  and  needs,  soon  becomes  too 
sluggish  and  short-sighted  to  do  even  that  much 
properly. 

Hence  we  believe  it  would  be  a  great  help  if  at 
every  station  there  were  formed  two  little  societies; 
a  Home  Missionary  Society  and  a  Foreign  Mission- 

(II) 


i62  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

ary  Society,  with  branches  at  every  outstation,  to 
collect  and  pass  on  missionary  news,  and  at  least  once 
a  year  send  a  money  offering  to  each  of  these  causes. 
For  even  an  offering  of  mites  would  bring  a  blessing, 
if  it  were  made  in  love;  just  as  truly  as  one  made  up 
of  loving  pounds  and  eagles. 

Nor  should  the  two  societies  be  united.  For  we 
believe  that  even  in  heaven  we  shall  find  division  of 
labor,  some  angels  making  a  specialty  of  one  kind  of 
work  and  some  of  another,  though  there  will  not  be 
any  rivalry  between  the  different  workers,  as  there 
sometimes  is  here.  And  two  wee,  but  enthusiastic 
societies,  each  working  for  the  work  it  understands 
best,  will  accomplish  more  than  one  bigger  society, 
whose  leaders  cannot  be  as  enthusiastic,  because  of 
their  having  on  their  hands  two  different  kinds  of 
work,  which  they  do  not  understand  equally  well  and 
thereiore  cannot  bG  equally  enthusiastic  about;  such 
are  the  inevitable  limitations  of  human  vision.  — 
Though  if  the  ladies  or  brethren  of  any  one  commu- 
nity really  prefer  a  union  society,  (i.  e.  if  the  workers 
and  givers  really  prefer  it)  we  certainly  ought  not  to 
object. 

Nor  are  such  local  missionary  societies,  home  and 
foreign,  needed  only  in  certain  classes  of  churches. 
For  the  weakest  churches,  financially,  need  them  as  a 
source  of  inspiration  and  cheer;  while  large  and  pros- 
perous churches  —  who  are  in  danger  of  depending 
too  much  on  a  few  rich  friends,  inside  the  church  or 
outside  of  it — need  them  even  more,  to  save  them- 
selves from  the  slow  but  fatal  decay,  or  else  mere 
spirit  of  luxury,  which  such  prosperity  is  apt  to  en- 
gender. 


PLANTING  CHURCHES.  163 

Ecclesiastical  Organizations. 

Coming  next  to  the  matter  of  ecclesiastical  organ- 
izations, we  need  not  stop  to  prove  that  some  sort 
of  organization  is  needed  to  give  to  the  churches 
the  benefits  of  a  closer  union  and  fellowship  with 
each  other;  or  that  quarterly  or  annual  or  semi-an- 
nual gatherings  for  prayer  and  conference  may  be 
made  exceedingly  helpful. 

Yet  in  the  details  of  organization  we  do  find  sev- 
eral points  of  note  on  which  Mr.  Wheeler  laid  em- 
phasis, most  of  which  can  be  better  discussed  under 
the  head  of  cooperation. —  But  one  will  have  to  be 
spoken  of  here;  namely,  his  belief  that  missionaries 
should  not  be  voting  members  of  any  local,  eccle- 
siastical organization,  but  simply  friendly  visitors 
and  advisers.  His  reason  for  so  thinking  was  that 
in  the  long  run  missionary  influence  would  correct 
their  mistakes  more  effectually  than  missionary  au- 
thority, or  veto  power,  or  votes. 

And  when  we  remember  that  some  of  these 
churches  had  already  reached  full  self-support  when 
first  formed,  and  all  were  rapidly  approaching  self- 
support,  we  cannot  but  feel  that  this  policy  was 
right;  especially  when  we  remember  that  in  any  case 
of  serious  difference  of  opinion,  public  protest  and, 
if  need  be,  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  missionaries 
would  count  for  more  in  the  long  run,  than  any  at- 
tempt to  nip  the  matter  in  the  bud  by  mere  parlia- 
mentary tactics;  especially  if  the  opposition  leader 
were  an  outsider  and  a  foreigner  (i.  e.  a  missionary) 
however  beloved  that  missionary  might  be  person- 
ally. 


i64  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Co-Operation  of  Native  and  Foreign  Workers.— 
Its  Benefits  and  Dangers. 

But  this  only  leads  on  to  the  larger  question  of  co- 
operation, on  which  so  much  has  been  said  and 
written  of  late.  Let  us  try  to  look  at  the  matter 
quietly;  for  it  is  one  in  which  excitement  and  haste 
only  make  the  confusion  greater,  instead  of  remov- 
ing existing  difificulties. 

First  of  all,  then,  it  is  clear  that  even  in  the  earliest 
stages  of  his  work  a  missionary  should  often  inform- 
ally consult  his  assistants  and  neighbors;  just  as  any 
energetic  business  man  often  consults  on  some  spe- 
cial points  even  the  least  of  those  in  his  employ. 
Of  course  the  outcome  of  such  consultations  cannot 
be  safely  used  till  it  has  been  sifted  and  verified;  but 
for  one  who  asks  his  questions  respectfully,  and  tries 
to  learn  something  helpful  from  each  reply,  such 
consultations  are  exceedingly  helpful;  ever  adding 
to  his  own  experience  some  of  the  best  results  of 
the  experience  of  those  around  him. 

In  this  sort  of  consultation  the  Harpoot  mission- 
aries were  ever  pre-eminent;  and  to  this  day  I  can 
well  remember  with  what  a  hearty  ring  my  father 
ever  consulted  those  around  him;  though  seldom 
forgetful  of  the  fact,  that  after  getting  all  the  light 
he  can,  the  missionary  must  himself  make  the  final 
decision  in  most  matters. 

But  next  we  come  to  the  question  of  how  to  co- 
operate, in  more  advanced  stages  of  the  work,  with 
pastors,  preachers  and  teachers  who  are  wholly  or 
partially    independent    of  the  missionary.  —  Let  us 


PLANTING  CHURCHES.  165 

first  discuss  the  case  where  the  native  churches  and 
workers  are  wholly  independent;  such  for  example 
as  the  internal  management  of  church  affairs.  Has 
the  missionary  in  such  cases  wholly  abdicated  his 
right  as  a  Christian  man,  to  sometimes  interfere  in 
extreme  cases,  however  unwelcome  his  interference 
may  be  to  some  parties? 

Practically  my  father's  answer  was,  No;  emphatic- 
ally, No;  though  I  never  remember  to  have  heard 
him  answer  the  question  theoretically.  But  well  do 
I  remember  the  pluck  and  vigor  with  which  he  oc- 
casionally came  to  the  rescue  of  an  oppressed  minor- 
ity, in  some  independent  church;  and  we  cannot  but 
feel  that  if  missionaries  were  to  more  emphatically 
assert,  in  words  and  in  practice,  their  right  to  thus 
sometimes  interfere,  as  men  not  as  bishops,  the  effect 
on  the  native  churches  would  be  more  wholesome, 
and  some  evils  which  the  missionaries  now  find  it 
hard  to  counteract  could  be  met  more  successfully; 
such  for  example  as  the  wine-drinking  epidemic 
which  at  one  time  wrought  so  much  mischief  in  the 
Harpoot  field. 

But  the  question  will  be  asked.  Should  not  the  mis- 
sionaries gradually  commit  to  the  hands  of  native 
workers  many  matters  which  at  first  were  managed 
wholly  by  the  missionaries  themselves?  Yes;  cer- 
tainly. But  the  father  should  not  wholly  retire  from 
business,  simply  because  he  has  taken  his  son  into 
partnership;  and  he  should  have  it  distinctly  under- 
stood that  he  is  still  the  head  of  the  firm,  though 
ordinarily  leaving  the  management  of  some  parts  of 
the  business  to  his  son.     Then  will  the  son  do  better 


i66  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

work,  through  being  under  a  slight  restraint  all  the 
time. 

But  the  question  arises,  to  whom  shall  this  work 
be  committed?  or,  in  other  words,  Who  is  the  junior 
partner?  The  natural  answer  seems  to  be:  Those 
native  churches  which  through  their  contributions 
and  prayers  have  really  begun  to  take  up  the  burden 
which  the  missionaries  hope  in  due  time  to  lay 
down;  in  other  words  the  officers  of  the  local  Home 
Missionary  Society,  Education  Society,  Foreign 
Missionary  Society,  etc. —  Such  are  our  junior  part- 
ners, or  rather  the  executive  committees  to  whom 
the  work  is  to  be  committed  more  and  more,  if  they 
be  found  competent  and  faithful. 

But  right  here  a  danger  arises  which  seems  often 
to  have  been  overlooked;  namely,  that  these  our 
junior  partners  should  be  looked  upon,  not  as  ad- 
visers chiefly,  but  as  active  assistants  and  workers, 
to  whom  definite  parts  of  the  work  are  to  be  grad- 
ually and  tentatively  committed;  the  missionaries 
simply  acting  as  court  of  appeals  and  final  decision 
in  cases  of  dispute.  But  as  a  matter  of  fact  we  find 
that  these  cooperative  committees  are  far  too  often 
treated  as  if  they  were  formal  councillors  and  advis- 
ers to  the  missionaries,  and  not  simply  honored  as- 
sistants—  a  relation  which,  if  made  too  prominent, 
tends  strongly  to  generate  mere  conceit  and  false 
dignity,  without  really  developing  that  executive 
skill  which  in  the  long  run  makes  men  humble,  and 
at  the  same  time  more  and  more  fit  for  the  full  su- 
perintendence of  the  Lord's  work  in  their  own  land 
later  on. 


PLANTING  CHURCHES.  167 

For  the  position  of  active  assistant  and  partner, 
though  seemingly  less  honorable  than  that  of  coun- 
cillor, is  really  more  conducive  to  growth  in  manli- 
ness and  usefulness  and  knowledge. 

But,  says  someone,  the  idea  of  cooperation  and 
partnership,  as  here  presented,  will  result  in  much 
friction.  To  which  we  simply  reply  that  the  mis- 
sionary who  hopes  to  do  really  good  work  without 
some  friction  is  doomed  to  disappointment.  For 
even  the  Lord  Jesus  did  not  succeed  in  doing  that. 
And  if  your  plan  of  cooperation  is  one  calculated  to 
develop  in  your  churches  and  in  their  agents  a  lov- 
ing and  business-like  activity  for  Christ,  the  friction 
will  be  only  occasional  and  temporary ;  and  less  and 
less  as  time  goes  on.  For  in  their  stronger  and 
clearer  moments,  all  your  more  sincere  workers  will 
love  and  honor  you,  however  much  they  may  grum- 
ble in  their  weaker  moments. 

Nor  should  the  missionary  forget  that,  brought 
up  from  infancy  in  constant  and  close  contact  with 
a  larger  and  richer  and  purer  civilization,  it  is  no 
mere  assumption  for  him  to  act  the  part  of  leader  in 
chief;  if  he  is  at  all  fitted  by  natural  endowment  for 
the  position  he  holds  as  representative  of  that  larger 
western  life.  And  it  is  only  by  humbly,  but  firmly 
maintaining  his  right  to  lead,  that  he  can  bring  to 
the  people  whom  he  loves  the  help  they  need;  and 
fit  them  for  larger  things  later  on. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

NATIVE   PASTORS  AND   HELPERS;   AND 
HOW  TO  TRAIN  THEM. 


We  have  already  spoken  of  the  importance  which 
Mr.  Wheeler  and  his  colleagues  attached  to  the  na- 
tive pastorate;  and  of  their  encouragement  of  a  spirit 
of  self-reliance  among  the  churches,  and  other  "Con- 
gregations" that  crowned  their  labors.  And  in  later 
chapters  we  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  of  the  rais- 
ing up  and  training  of  still  other  sorts  of  leaders, 
both  male  and  female.  But  in  this  chapter  we 
wish  to  speak  more  especially  of  religious  leaders, 
both  pastors  and  preachers,  and  of  some  of  their 
ways  of  selecting  and  training  such. 

That  the  missionary  himself  should  not  settle 
down  to  mere  pastoral  work;  but  should,  as  far  as 
possible,  train  others  to  do  the  easier  parts  of  the 
work  which  he  wishes  to  see  accomplished,  devoting 
himself  meanwhile  to  the  more  difficult  and  far-reach- 
ing task  of  selecting  and  training  his  assistants,  and 
superintending  and  leading  them  on  in  their  ever- 
widening  work,  —  this  much  has  been  pretty  gener- 
ally admitted.  For  such  a  plan  of  work  multiplies 
the  missionary's  power  many  fold,  both  in  quality 
and  in  quantity,  and  gives  to  his  work  a  depth,  vital- 

i68 


NATIVE  PASTORS  AND  HELPERS.  169 

ity  and  permanence  which  it  could  never  have  had,  if 
he  had  relied  for  his  results  simply  on  his  own  direct 
personal  efforts. 

For  he  soon  finds  that  many  a  very  humble  and 
unlearned  brother  can  proclaim  the  Gospel  mes- 
sage almost  as  effectively  as  he  can  himself,  and 
sometimes  even  more  effectively;  though  not  as 
well  able  as  he  is  to  gather  up  and  organize  the 
results. 

For  many  a  man  who  is  powerless  to  do  anything 
unaided;  often  displays  wonderful  energy  and  skill 
in  Christian  work,  when  once  thoroughly  wakened 
by  some  one  else,  to  whom  God's  providence  has 
given  a  wider  experience  and  insight.  Thus  was  it 
that  Christ  relied  on  his  twelve  apostles  and  on  the 
"seventy;"  thus  also  did  Paul  ever  surround  himself 
with  other  workers;  and  Luther,  Wycliffe,  Wesley, 
Booth,  F.  E.  Clark  and  many  others,  have  done  the 
same;  and  thus  accomplished  more,  each  in  his  spe- 
cial line. 

True,  some  of  these  grand  movements  have  in 
them  some  very  serious  defects;  but  these  defects, 
instead  of  be.ng  increased,  are,  on  the  contrary, 
greatly  lessened  by  the  use  which  is  made  of  the 
inborn  gift  of  leadership  which  God  has  given  so 
much  more  abundantly  to  some  men  than  to  others. 

Hence  it  is  pleasant  to  see  how  rapidly  the  idea 
of  Missionary  Leadership  has  gained  ground  dur- 
ing the  past  sixty  years,  that  is  to  say  since  1837, 
which  is  the  earliest  year  for  which  we  have  been 
able  to  get  statistics. 


I70  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Taking  then  native  helpers  of  all  classes  (i.  e.  all 
engaged  in  religious  work  of  some  sort,)  we  find 
that  in  the  missions  of  the  American  Board  there 
were  from  1837  to  ^^5^  more  missionaries  than  there 
were  native  helpers;  or  about  four  missionaries  to 
every  three  native  helpers.  But  from  that  time  on 
the  ratio  is  reversed; 

For  from  1852  to  '56,  there  were  1.5  native  help- 
ers to  each  American  male  missionary. 

From  1857  to  '65,  there  were  3.9  native  helpers  to 
each  missionary. 

From  1866  to  '75,  there  were  6  native  helpers  to 
each  missionary. 

From  1876  to  '85,  —  9  native  helpers  to  each  mis- 
sionary;— 

And  from  1886  to  '95,  —  thirteen. 

Surely  a  most  remarkable  and  promising  growth; 
though  here  as  elsewhere  some  missions  are  far 
ahead  of  others,  and  a  few  missions  of  long  stand- 
ing seem  rather  backward  in  this  matter,  as  statistics 
plainly  show.  Though  perhaps  the  most  striking 
evidence  that  some  missionaries  fail  to  properly  ap- 
preciate the  importance  of  training  up  plenty  of  na- 
tive  assistants,    and    Working    Mostly   Through 

Them is  the  fact  that  their  talks  and  letters  are 

so  full  of  what  they  themselves  are  doing,  in  person, 
for  the  masses  round  them;  but  seldom  refer,  except 
in  a  very  incidental  way,  to  the  less  picturesque  but 
more  important  work  of  selecting,  training,  advising, 
superintending  and  consulting  their  native  assist- 
ants, to  which  they  ought  to  be  giving  so  large  a 
part  of  their  time  and  strength. 


NATIVE  PASTORS  AND  HELPERS.  171 

How  to  Get  the  Best  Men. 

But  coming  again  to  the  question  in  detail  of  se~ 
lecting  and  training  men  for  the  Gospel  ministry,  the 
first  sub-question  that  arises  is,  Who  are  the  best 
men?  and  how  are  we  to  find  them?  To  this  im- 
portant question  we  find  in  the  experience  of  the  Har- 
poot  missionaries  several  helpful  answers. 

First,  that  "smart"  men,  so  called,  are  seldom  the 
best  ones  to  employ  in  introducing  the  gospel  to  a 
people;  for  such  men,  even  when  not  shallow  and  care- 
less, are  nearly  always  more  given  to  simply  enter- 
taining the  people  than  they  are  to  educating  and 
training  them  in  the  common-place  duties  and  hopes 
of  daily  life. 

Secondly,  they  were  careful  to  choose  men  who 
were  already  leading  spirits  among  their  acquaint- 
ances. Not  mere  ecclesiastics;  for  these  are  seldom 
real  leaders;  and  even  when  they  do  lead,  are  apt  to 
be  very  unprincipled.  For  they  soon  found  that  the 
true  leaders  of  a  community  were  generally  men  of 
middle  age,  whose  opinion  carried  weight,  even  be- 
fore they  became  Christians.  For  the  most  careful 
thinkers  in  any  community  are  always  leaders  of  its 
better  elements,  whatever  their  trades  may  chance  to 
be. 

Thirdly,  they  were  careful  to  choose  men  whose 
influence  in  most  matters  had  been  on  the  right  side, 
even  before  conversion.  For  while  conversion  may 
change  Saul  into  Paul;  or  a  wild  robber  chieftain  into 
a  humble  follower  of  Christ,  in  spite  of  the  blood  that 
stains  his  hands;  or  a  grasping  money-maker  into  a 


172  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

great  philanthropist;  experience  always  shows  that 
there  was  before,  in  each  of  these  lives,  a  vein  of  true 
but  half  choked  nobility,  planted  there  by  God,  and 
used  by  Him  in  preparing  them  for  their  larger  work 
later  on.  (See  Acts  26:9,  I  Tim.  1:13,  Rom.  10:1-3.) 
For  though  God's  spirit  often  converts  thoroughly 
mean  and  little  men,  He  never  makes  them  leaders 
in  His  church. 

Fourthly,  they  tried  to  get  men  of  real  spirituality; 
men  to  whom  the  very  thought  of  God  and  love  and 
duty,  and  of  prayer,  temptation  and  sin,  was  sure  to 
bring  a  thrill  of  joy  or  pain;  and  not  mere  goody- 
goody  men,  "born  good,"  or  rather  born  insipid,  and 
called  good,  simply  because  they  have  not  life  enough 
in  them  to  feel  the  temptations  that  fall  to  the  lot 
of  most  men.  For  though  these  last  may  make 
pleasing  figure-heads,  and  helpful  members  of  soci- 
ety, they  make  very  poor  leaders  and  teachers  in 
life's  large  battles.  And  they  justly  felt  that  a  few 
live  and  thoroughly  trusty  men  were  more  to  be  de- 
sired than  a  larger  number  of  less  live  and  trusty 
ones;  for  experience  seems  to  show  that  even  one  or 
two  untrustworthy  and  incompetent  men,  instead  of 
"helping  just  a  little,"  will  positively  interfere  with 
the  work  done  by  others  who  are  more  reliable. 
Though  this  does  not  exclude  little  men;  provided 
they  be  true  enough  to  faithfully  fill  a  little  place. 

Fifthly,  they  insisted  on  waiting  till  they  could 
get  men  of  real  piety;  i.  e.,  men  who  were  already 
converted.  For  otherwise  many  a  good  man  would 
be  spoiled  by  being  stuffed  with  learning  too  soon; 
while  others  would  only  be  better  fitted  to  serve  the 


NATIVE  PASTORS  AND  HELPERS.  173 

devil  skilfully. And  strange  to  say,  illiterate  but 

intelligent  and  true-souled  adults,  of  middle  age, 
when  once  converted,  are  apt  to  make  better  workers, 
and  a  more  abmidant  supply  of  workers,  in  the  pioneer 
stage,  than  boys  kept  for  a  long  period  of  years  in 
the  missionary  schools,  in  hopes  of  fitting  them  for 
preachers  and  pastors.  For  boys  brought  up  in 
heathenism,  are  apt  to  be  upset  morally  and  men- 
tally by  a  course  of  book-learning  which  to  us  seems 
extremely  elementary  and  harmless,  or  even  indis- 
pensable. To  which  should  be  added  the  further 
remark  that  your  work  is  sure  to  be  sadly  delayed 
and  needlessly  straitened,  if  you  have  to  wait  for  a  lot 
of  boys  to  grow  up;  to  find  even  then  that  many  of 
them  are  not  cut  out  for  leaders  at  all\  while  others 
prefer  honest  money-making  to  preaching;  and  so, 
soon  leave  your  employ. 

But,  says  some  one,  how  could  they  ever  get  started 
if  they  were  not  willing  at  first  to  work  with  uncon- 
verted helpers?  The  answer  is,  that  they  preferred 
to  stand  all  alone  for  awhile,  rather  than  run  the  risks 
of  crippling  the  Lord's  work  by  taking  the  wrong 
kind  of  men  into  partnership.  For  one  talkative 
hypocrite  (or  even  one  great  blunderer)  is  often 
enough  to  cripple  a  whole  church,  if  he  is  once  in- 
side its  fold;  and  even  one  case  of  cholera,  too  near 
home,  may  cause  a  great  many  needless  deaths. 

Then,  sixthly,  they  were  wise  and  far-sighted 
enough  to  employ  at  first  some  very  unlearned  men, 
so  far  as  book-learning  is  concerned;  and  some  of 
their  finest  foundation  laying  was  done  by  just  such 
men  as  these.     For  we  should  remember  that  life  it- 


174  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

self  is  a  school,  even  in  the  darkest  of  earth's  cor- 
ners, and  some  pure  souls  stand  very  high  in  this 
school,  even  when  of  books  and  so  called  sciences 
they  as  yet  know  not  even  the  A  B  Cs.  — And,  even 
in  later  years,  there  always  were  some  quiet  corners 
where  such  rough  and  unpolished  diamonds  could 
be  used  to  good  advantage. 

Seventhly,  they  were  careful  not  to  take  too  young 
men;  for  they  soon  found  that  men  from  twenty-five 
to  thirty-five  years  of  age  generally  made  better 
workers  than  younger  ones.  For  such  men,  though 
slower  to  learn,  are  nevertheless  more  quiet  and 
steady;  and  less  likely  to  be  upset  by  the  new  and 
strange  ideas  which  close  contact  with  the  mission- 
ary inevitably  rouses,  more  or  less.  And  they  are 
also  apt  to  be  more  wise  and  skilful  in  the  work  of 
winning  and  training  souls.  Surely  here  is  a  lesson 
worth  remembering;  for  it  is  hard  for  us  to  realize 
how  intoxicating  is  new  knowledge,  when  given  to 
an  inexperienced  young  person  too  suddenly,  with- 
out a  proper  chance  to  digest  it. 

And  even  in  enlightened  America,  we  would  prob- 
ably have  less  mere  rambling  talks  in  the  pulpit,  and 
less  mere  purposeless  declamation,  if  young  minis- 
ters, both  pastors  and  evangelists,  were  expected  to 
spend  more  of  their  time  and  strength  in  the  simpler 
and  more  obscure  parts  of  pastoral  work  instead  of 
coming  so  early  and  so  often  before  their  people  as 
full-fledged  public  leaders  and  teachers,  privileged 
to  speak  long  and  often,  in  tones  of  authority,  "be- 
cause they  are  ministers."  For  neither  smartness 
nor  consecration  will  make  a  good  professor  out  of 


NATIVE  PASTORS  AND  HELPERS.  175 

an  inexperienced  young  doctor;  or  a  really  good 
preacher  out  of  an  inexperienced  young  theologue; 
though  in  the  humbler,  slower  and  less  showy  parts 
of  either  profession,  even  the  most  inexperienced 
man  may  do  really  helpful  work;  if  sensible  enough 
to  let  alone  some  cases,  and  often  ask  advice  from 
his  elders  in  others.  And  meanwhile,  in  dealing 
long  and  closely  with  individuals,  he  learns  how  to 
really  lead  and  uplift  masses;  or  else  how  to  let  them 
alone  and  work  on  honorably  in  private. 

Then,  eighthly,  they  were  careful  to  keep  testing 
their  men  after  they  had  chosen  them;  sending  them 
out  every  Saturday  for  a  Sabbath's  work  in  some  one 
of  the  near  villages;  and  also  planning  their  course 
of  study  so  as  to  oblige  each  student  to  spend  the 
best  part  of  the  year — the  four  winter  months  —  in 
active  personal  work  among  the  people,  —  first  as 
teacher,  and  later  on  as  both  preacher  and  teacher 
combined.  And  even  in  later  years,  when  the  semi- 
nary terms  were  longer,  and  their  students  all  came 
from  the  lower  schools  and  from  the  College,  no  one 
was  admitted  to  the  Seminary  till  he  had  been  care- 
fully tested  as  a  teacher,  colporteur  or  lay  worker. 

But  says  some  one,  Did  the  Harpoot  missionaries 
always  succeed  in  properly  applying  these  various 
tests  and  conditions?  —  Of  course  not;  for  their  ideal 
was  a  very  high  one.  But  one  fact  stands  out  clear- 
ly all  through  their  history,  namely  that  their  hon- 
est attempt  to  apply  such  severe  and  varied  tests  re- 
sulted in  their  having  an  exceptionally  large  and 
consecrated  body  of  workers;  among  whom  were 
less  poor  men,  and  more  extra  good  ones,  than 
would  otherwise  have  been  possible. 


176  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

What  to  Teach  Them. 

After  choosing  the  right  men,  the  question  still  re- 
mains to  be  answered;  what  shall  we  teach  them,  in 
order  to  fit  them  for  their  work  as  leaders  of  God's 
flock?  To  this  question  no  detailed  answer  need 
be  given  here;  for  on  the  main  points  there  is  a 
pretty  general  agreement  the  world  over. —  But  just 
a  few  words  will  not  be  out  of  place. 

It  seems  then  rather  odd  to  be  told,  as  we  are, 
that  in  early  years  the  only  book  knowledge  re- 
quired for  admission  to  the  Theologial  Seminary  at 
Harpoot  was  the  power  to  "read  and  write  and 
cipher  a  little,"  and  a  "good  knowledge  of  the  gos- 
pel story";  and  that  the  students  had  to  take  lessons 
in  geography,  spelling,  etc.,  after  entering  the  semi- 
nary! But  these  were  things  which  could  not  be 
learned  in  the  school  of  life,  of  which  all  of  them 
had  been  honored  pupils,  though  not  graduates;  and 
so  had  to  be  taught  here. 

But  going  on  to  matters  more  strictly  theological, 
we  find  that  they  always  gave  the  most  prominent 
place  in  the  whole  course  to  Bible  study;  and  it  does 
my  heart  good  to  see  how  intensely  practical  most 
of  this  Bible  study  has  been.  For  the  world  is  be- 
ginning to  find  that  even  the  Bible  can  be  studied 
and  taught  in  such  stupidly  unnatural  ways  as  to  do 
almost  no  good  at  all,  and  even  a  great  deal  of  harm. 
—  And  this  the  Harpoot  missionaries  seem  to  have 
realized  pretty  clearly;  and  so  were  markedly  suc- 
cessful in  impressing  upon  their  pupils  the  spirit  of 
God's  word,  rather  than  a  mere  string  of   abstract 


NATIVE  PASTORS  AND  HELPERS.  177 

doctrines,  which  would  only  perplex  the  mind  rather 
than  edify. 

And  well  do  I  remember  the  intense  enthusiasm 
with  which  Mr.  Wheeler  entered  into  this  work  of 
Bible  teaching;  making  the  class  room  seem  more 
like  an  exceptionally  wide  awake  prayer  meeting 
than  any  other  class  room  I  ever  entered.  For  the 
whole  atmosphere  seemed  to  be  pervaded  with  the 
one  thought  that  "man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify  God 
and  enjoy   Him   forever." 

Then,  later  on  in  the  course,  came  a  class  in  ser- 
monizing, which  I  well  remember  attending  at  one 
time  as  an  honorary  boy  pupil,  —  Mr.  Wheeler  tak- 
ing an  interest  in  this  class  second  only  to  his  inter- 
est in  the  classes  for  Biblical  exegesis. 

And  besides  the  classes  in  sermonizing,  both  ex- 
tempore and  written,  there  was  also  constant  prac- 
tice in  composition.  But  if  we  may  venture  a  criti- 
cism, it  would  be  this:  that  these  "thinking  lessons" 
were  not  detailed  and  simple  enough.  —  For  many 
a  man  who  can  string  words  and  sentences  together 
with  a  good  deal  of  rhetorical  skill  and  earnestness, 
is  weak  in  the  power  to  really  think  correctly,  and  ex- 
tricate himself  and  others  from  the  sloughs  of  per- 
plexity and  fallacy  into  which  we  all  of  us  so  often 
fall.  And  we  cannot  but  feel  that  some  of  the  dis- 
appointments and  anxieties  which  afterwards  beset 
and  limited  their  work  might  have  been  greatly  less- 
ened, if  these  earlier  leaders  had  been  more  care- 
fully trained  in  the  art  of  really  clear  and  accurate 
thinking,  instead  of  being  so  often  content  with 
simply  repeating  earnestly  the  teachings  of  others. 
(12) 


178  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

And  even  in  the  field  practice  of  which  we  have 
already  spoken,  when  they  went  out  to  preach  Sun- 
days and  vacations,  we  cannot  but  feel  that  they 
needed  more  help  in  the  detailed  and  accurate  study 
of  human  nature  face  to  face  than  was  usually  given 
to  them.  —  True,  they  were  often  accompanied  by 
more  experienced  native  workers,  and  were  often  vis- 
ited and  advised  in  their  work  by  the  missionaries. 
But  in  a  great  many  important  matters  of  detail  it 
was  taken  for  granted  that  "common  sense"  would 
lead  them  all  right,  without  special  training.  But 
as  a  matter  of  fact  such  is  not  the  case,  either  in  Tur- 
key or  in  America;  and  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that 
a  careful  course  in  observing  human  nature  more 
closely,  and  thinking  about  it  more  accurately,  would 
double  the  usefulness  of  most  gospel  workers,  both 
at  home  and  abroad. 

But  hurrying  on  in  our  glimpse  at  the  course  of 
study,  we  come  to  just  one  more  matter  of  which  we 
must  take  time  to  speak,  namely  the  lessons  in  phys- 
ical culture  and  the  true  dignity  of  labor! 

The  students  needed  better  health,  for  they  were 
not  used  to  so  much  confining  study;  and  the  mis- 
sionary longed  for  better  roads  out  into  the  quiet 
country;  and  thinking  that  of  course  the  students 
would  be  glad  to  help,  and  thus  turn  an  honest  pen- 
ny in  addition  to  their  weekly  allowance,  Mr. 
Wheeler  one  day  sent  for  the  students  to  come  and 
help  him  build  an  improved  road  round  the  moun- 
tain side. 

But  only  two  came!     And  then  it  was  found  that 


NATIVE  PASTORS  AND  HELPERS.  179 

they  thought  such  work  too  undignified  for  young 
clergymen;  even  with  a  missionary  to  "boss  the  job" 
and  do  more  digging  than  any  one  else. 

But  the  missionaries  were  Yankees  and  would  not 
be  worsted  quite  so  easily  as  that  m  a  good  cause; 
so  they  simply  announced  that  after  that  the  weekly 
allowance  would  be  less,  but  that  those  who  wished 
could  earn  something  additional  by  working  an 
hour  a  day  in  the  missionary's  labor  gang,  with  the 
missionary  as  chief  digger;  and  so  after  a  while 
manual  labor  became  quite  respectable,  and  the  stu- 
dents had  healthier  bodies  and  healthier  minds,  and 
the  city  better  roads. 

HOW   MUCH  TO  TEACH  THEM. 

But  once  more  changing  our  point  of  view,  we 
come  to  another  matter  to  which  Mr.  Wheeler  and 
his  colleagues  attached  great  importance;  namely, 
the  need  of  so  planning  the  course  of  study,  as  not 
to  upset  your  students'  mental  and  moral  balance. 

For  that  learning  does  sometimes  upset  men  and 
women  morally  and  mentally,  making  them  less 
true  and  less  clear  sighted,  the  records  of  colleges 
and  seminaries  and  universities  the  world  over,  do 
most  abundantly  prove.  Of  course  this  moral  up- 
set may  be  at  times  due  to  the  utterly  faulty  char- 
acter of  the  teacher;  but  the  point  we  have  to  con- 
sider here  is  quite  another  one;  namely,  that  even  a 
first  class  thanksgiving  dinner  may  temporarily  up- 
set a  person's  digestion,  mental  or  physical;  and 
that  such  over-eating,  kept  up  day  after  day  and 
week  after  week,  may  even  produce  serious  chronic 
disorders. 


i8o  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

But  where  is  the  safety  line?  the  line  where  healthy 
growth  is  assured,  and  the  evils  of  mental  dys- 
pepsia avoided? —  Is  it  after  two  years  of  study?  or 
four?  or  ten?  Does  it  exclude  Greek  and  Hebrew? 
or  include  them?  and  does  it  justify  the  free  teach- 
ing of  English?  or  should  all  studies  be  vernacular? 
These  are  all  hot  questions  on  mission  soil;  but  all 
of  them  misleading.  For  in  different  stations  and 
at  different  stages  of  the  work  they  should  all  be 
answered  differently. 

For  the  real  test  lies  deeper  down  and  is  The 
Daily  Effect  on  Character  of  the  Lessons 
Taught  and  Learned.  For  a  close  and  competent 
observer,  judging  his  pupils  singly,  soon  finds  that 
each  study,  yes  even  algebra  and  calculus,  makes 
each  pupil  perceptibly  better  or  worse,  nobler  or 
meaner,  as  the  days  go  by;  and  that  what  is  a  help 
to  one  is  an  injury  to  another.  But  going  a  little 
farther  he  also  soon  finds  that  some  students  are  in- 
jured by  the  study  of  A,  some  by  the  study  of  B, 
and  some  by  the  study  of  C;  while  few  if  any  are 
injured  by  a  study  of  D.  Under  these  circumstances, 
he  must  of  course  give  the  preference  to  D;  so  long 
as  circumstances  remain  unaltered  and  a  uniform 
course  is  required. 

Of  course  this  is  not  an  easy  test  to  apply;  nor 
did  the  Harpoot  missionaries  always  apply  it  with 
unerring  accuracy.  But  they  did  apply  it  as  best 
they  knew  how;  and  soon  learning  that  too  little  in- 
tellectual stimulus  was  safer  than  too  much,  they  man- 
aged very  successfully  to  keep  the  spiritual  side -of 
their  work  foremost  through  all  the  years  of  their 


NATIVE  PASTORS  AND  HELPERS.  i8i 

work,  though  not  quite  as  successfully  in  later  years 
as  in  earlier;  for  a  college  is  a  more  complex  and 
puzzling  organism  than  a  theological  seminary. 

But  their  wisdom  in  not  starting  the  college  earlier, 
and  their  marked  though  faulty  success  in  taming  it 
when  it  did  come,  do  them  great  credit;  and  both 
alike  illustrate  their  grasp  of  this  important  principle. 
But  of  this  we  shall  speak  later. 

But  coming  back  to  the  seminary  question  we  find 
them  day  by  day  and  year  by  year  feeling  carefully 
the  pulse  of  their  school,  and  of  each  individual  pu- 
pil, and  stopping  the  giving  of  stimulants  whenever 
there  was  the  least  tendency  to  intoxicate,  or  to  rouse 
a  spirit  of  mere  self-seeking;  for  such  a  spirit  is  surely 
out  of  place  in  men  supported  by  the  churches,  even 
when  it  does  not  degenerate  into  mere  selfishness. 

Then  too  they  were  ever  careful  to  call  a  halt  in 
study,  whenever  it  lessened  a  man's  sympathy  for  the 
people  he  must  help.  Or  to  quote  the  words  of  the 
late  W.  F.  Williams,  they  strove  to  turn  out  men  "so 
well  educated  that  their  people  could  look  up  to 
them;  but  not  so,  rriuch  so  as  tq  be  out  of  sympathy 
with  them,  or  unhappy  among  them."  And  in  this 
they  succeeded  most  wonderfully.  And  moreover 
it  was  pleasant  to  see  how  often  the  danger  of  sus- 
pension, or  an  actual  suspension  of  a  year  or  two, 
would  be  the  straw  which  would  tip  the  balance  in 
favor  of  health,  and  make  good  workmen  out  of  some 
who  we^re  before  in  dangerdf  losihg  tlieir  bilance  and 
self-control.        '  '^'^    '^••^^- '2n^7r;i    ,i:n/ 

CfiJ  TQj   ',nin2  i-f^-'i  ^--n  >:  3T3riJ  /jtI'^Wz  3ud  JSffi  j£  cnozp. 


i82  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

How  Lon^  to  Teach  Them. 

As  to  the  length  of  the  seminary  course  at  Har- 
poot,  it  was  originally  two  year?,  of  seven  and  a  half 
months  each,  with  a  long  four  months'  vacation  in 
the  winter,  so  as  to  give  them  a  chance  to  do  personal 
work  among  the  people  at  a  time  of  year  when  the 
people  and  their  children  were  most  at  leisure,  and 
thus  most  accessible. 

Later  on  the  course  was  four  years,  and  the  stand- 
ard of  admission  much  higher;  though  from  first  to 
last  the  missionaries  seem  to  have  been  keenly  alive 
to  the  fact  that  too  much  mere  book-learning  is  worse 
for  a  man  than  too  little;  and  so  were  very  slow  in 
raising  their  standard. 

But  why  is  it  that  too  much  learning  is  a  thing  to 
be  so  carefully  avoided?  And  is  it  not  true,  as  some 
have  asserted,  that  Mr.  Wheeler  was  really  an  enemy 
of  education,  in  all  the  earlier  years  of  his  life;  and 
a  very  stubbornly  inconsistent  friend  of  education  in 
all  his  later  years;  because  of  his  being  so  careful 
not  to  go  too  fast?  And  is  not  knowledge  a  good 
thing? 

Yes,  surely  knowledge,  unmixed  with  poison,  is 
good;  but  when  given  to  a  weak  or  sickly  mind  too 
rapidly,  or  rather  too  indiscriminately,  it  produces 
fever  and  delirium  as  truly  as  does  well  cooked  food 
when  given  to  one  whose  stomach  is  not  ready  for 
it.  And,  furthermore,  even  when  the  ill  effects 
seem  at  first  but  slight,  there  is  no  real  gain;  for  the 
mind  fails  to  grasp  the  real  truth,  the  truth  to  which 


NATIVE  PASTORS  AND  HELPERS.  183 

the  words  were  meant  to  point,  and  so  learns  to 
work  blindly  rather  than  intelligently.  For  at  such 
times  simple,  routine  work,  mental  and  physical,  ap- 
plying what  little  we  already  know,  is  far  better  for 
us  than  any  attempt  to  get  new  knowledge  by  fur- 
ther study  of  books. 

AS  TO  THE  SUPPORT  OF  THEOLOGICAL  STUDENTS. 

As  to  the  support  of  these  students,  the  policy  of 
the  missionaries  was  to  give  them  each  a  small 
weekly  allowance,  part  of  which  was  conditional  on 
their  helping  in  the  manual  work  spoken  of  above 
(page  178)  this  allowance  being  made  small  enough 
to  barely  cover  the  expenses  of  a  very  simple  way 
of  living.  But  some  one  may  ask,  Why  pay  them 
anything?  Why  not  make  them  support  themselves? 
To  this  there  are  two  answers;  first,  because  most  of 
them  were  such  poor  men  in  money  ways  that  they 
could  not  have  supported  themselves  and  gone  on 
with  a  regular  course  of  study,  without  taking  a 
much  longer  time  than  was  best,  where  so  many 
fields  were  already  white  for  the  harvest  and  waiting 
for  reapers.  And,  secondly,  the  few  who  might 
have  paid  their  own  way,  had  already  made  as  real 
and  painful  a  sacrifice  in  giving  up  a  profitable  and 
wealth  promising  business,  that  to  put  upon  them  the 
added  sacrifice  of  rapidly  using  up  their  small  savings 
would  have  been  unjust  indeed,  and  very  short 
sighted. 

But  we  should  also  remember  that  these  were 
all  picked    men,    pledged  to  devote  themselves  to 


i84  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

gospel  work,  if  found  suitable;  and  sure  to  be  soon 
"sent  home,"  as  per  contract,  if  found  unsuitable; 
and  also  sure  to  spend  at  least  three  or  four  months 
every  year  while  in  the  seminary,  in  active  service 
at  points  where  trained  leaders  were  needed  at  once; 
and  at  the  end  of  two,  three  or  four  years,  able  to 
give  their  whole  time  and  strength  to  the  work. 

THE  STUDENT  AFTER  GRADUATION. 

We  ought  next  to  say  a  word  about  the  way  in 
which  the  missionaries  dealt  with  these  men  after 
graduation;  for  on  mission  soil,  even  more  evidently 
than  in  Christian  America,  graduation  is  only  a  great 
commencement. 

And  yet  we  need  not  go  into  many  details,  for 
other  parts  of  the  book  are  full  of  them;  but  only 
call  attention  to  the  general  fact  that,  if  these  choice 
young  men  are  to  do  good  work,  and  really  do  their 
best,  they  will  need  close  and  constant  supervision, 
for  they  like  us  are  human,  and  need  both  inspira- 
tion and  restraint.  Otherwise  many  an  important 
duty  will  be  overlooked  or  aeglected,  sometimes  be- 
cause of  human  ignorance,  and  sometimes  because 
of  human  weakness;  for  these  haunt  even  the  best 
of  men,  when  forced  to  stand  alone,  even  in  a  good 
cause. 

And  then  once  more  am  I  reminded  of  the  way  in 
which  the  missionaries  at  Harpoot  thought  of  their 
native  helpers  as  brethren  beloved;  and  treated  them 
as  such,  even  when  they  had  to  rebuke  and  restrain 
them  sharply,  as  an  elder  brother  would  restrain  a 


NATIVE  PASTORS  AND  HELPERS.  185 

younger.  And  although,  as  a  boy,  and  later  on  as 
a  man,  I  have  spent  nineteen  years  in  Harpoot,  and 
have  watched  it  closely  from  a  distance  for  even  a 
longer  time,  I  never  saw  there,  with  but  one  excep- 
tion, the  spirit  of  looking  down  on  the  people  which 
I  have  since  learned  does  sometimes  exist  even  in 
some  missionary  hearts.  And  I  have  no  doubt  this 
hearty  respect  which  the  Harpoot  missionaries  felt 
for  the  people  among  whom  they  labored  was  one  of 
the  many  seemingly  little  things,  which  taken  to- 
gether accounted  for  their  large  success;  though  any 
one  of  them  taken  alone  would  never  have  brought 
such  a  harvest. 

The  missionaries  were  also  careful  to  have  from 
time  to  time  short  summer  schools  for  the  encour- 
agement and  further  training  of  such  of  their  helpers 
as  could  attend;  though  these  do  not  seem  to  have 
been  held  quite  as  often  as  might  perhaps  have  been 
well.  And  we  are  inclined  to  think  that  they  ought 
also  to  have  required  from  each  of  their  helpers,  ex- 
cept those  who  had  passed  into  the  employ  of  wholly 
self-supporting  churches,  a  simple  semi-annual  or 
quarterly  examination  of  some  sort,  only  taking  care 
to  let  each  one  choose  for  himself  just  what  line  his 
studies  shall  take;  that  thus  along  side  of  the  gentle 
compulsion  of  an  examination,  there  might  be  great 
freedom  as  to  the  special  problems  in  life,  Scripture, 
or  history  which  each  one  would  choose  for  his  quar- 
ter's study,  provided  he  gave  ample  proof  of  having 
done  plenty  of  careful,  detailed  and  accurate  work  on 
his  special  problem. 


i86  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

As  to  the  Location  and  Number  of  Missionary 
Seminaries. 

As  to  the  location  and  number  of  missionary  sem- 
inaries, there  are  three  points  which^re  of  sufficient 
general  interest  to  be  worth  mentioning.  The  first 
is  that  they  should  never  be  located  at  a  point,  how- 
ever central,  where  the  student  would  have  to  live 
or  dress  in  a  way  much,  if  any,  more  costly  than 
that  of  the  well  to  do  middle  class  in  his  own  native 
district.  To  us  in  America  where  the  middle  class 
in  New  York,  Chicago  and  San  Francisco,  and  at  all 
intervening  points  live  and  dress  nearly  the  same 
(though  not  at  equal  cost)  this  seems  a  wholly  un- 
necessary point  to  make.  But  in  the  Orient,  where 
ways  of  living  vary  greatly  from  district  to  district, 
it  is  a  point  of  great  importance;  for  habits  of  fine 
living  and  dressing,  once  acquired,  are  hard  to  lay 
aside;  and  yet  do  strongly  tend  to  lessen  the  average 
man's  willingness  to  settle  down  once  more  among 
a  poorly  dressed  and  roughly  fed  people;  though 
these  may  be  the  very  ones  among  whom  he  has 
spent  nine-tenths  of  his  life,  and  among  whom  he 
would  today  be  happier  than  in  his  fine  clothes  and 
restless  search  for  better  living.  —  On  this  point  the 
conflict  in  early  years  was  at  times  very  hot,  but 
finally  this  much  was  pretty  generally  agreed  to. 

Then,  secondly,  it  has  been  quite  generally  ad- 
mitted of  late,  by  many  missionaries  at  least,  that 
each  station  should,  if  possible,  have  from  time  to 
time,  small  "station  classes"  of  men  likely  to  become 
ministers  later  on;  and  that  a  little  time  may  profit- 


NATIVE  PASTORS  AND  HELPERS.  187 

ably  be  spent  each  year  in  starting  these  men  in 
their  systematic  studies,  with  a  view  to  testing  them, 
and  fitting  the  best  of  them  for  a  fuller  course  of 
study  later  on,  at  some  regular  seminary. 

But  it  is  also  quite  generally  admitted,  though  at 
times  a  little  reluctantly,  that  stations  which  wish 
their  men  to  take  a  full  theological  course  should 
not  ordinarily  attempt  to  do  all  the  work  at  home. 
For  three  seminaries  with  fifteen  pupils  each  would 
cost  the  American  churches  nearly  three  times  as 
much  as  one  seminary  with  forty-five  pupils,  with- 
out any  likelihood  of  their  really  doing  any  better 
work,  if  as  good.  While  in  station  classes,  the  at- 
tempt should  be  to  simply  give  glimpses  of  life,  and 
a  few  ideas  as  to  methods  of  study  and  self-culture, 
with  frequent  examination  of  the  results  of  private 
study  on  character  and  life,  rather  than  to  teach 
very  much  in  the  class  room  proper. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES;  OR  THE 
PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY. 

And  now  we  come  to  the  subject  on  which  Mr. 
Wheeler's  life  and  writings  throw  more  new  light  than 
on  any  other  one  subject  in  the  whole  range  of  mis- 
sionary thought;  namely  the  wise  and  unwise  use  of 
money  in  missionary  work,  both  at  home  and  abroad. 

BEARING  ONE  ANOTHER'S  BURDENS. 

But  first  of  all  the  question  arises,  and  has  often 
been  asked  of  late.  Why  should  money  be  used  at  all 
in  missionary  work? 

The  answer  to  this  question  is  found  when  we  come 
to  applying  that  beautiful  teaching  of  Scripture  (Gal. 
6:2)  and  of  nature,  "Bear  ye  one  another's  burdens, 
and  so  fulfil  the  law  of  Christ."  For  life  would  be 
sad  indeed,  were  there  not  in  it  so  many  chances  to 
help  in  bearing  others'  burdens  and  to  get  others  to 
help  in  bearing  ours.  —  Home,  Friendship,  Love, 
Father,  Mother,  words  like  these  all  point  back  to 
burden  bearing;  and  from  love  of  burden  bearing, 
and  a  wise  burden  bearing,  comes  all  their  sweetness 
and  beauty.  For  burdens  rightly  borne  only  make 
life  richer  and  sweeter  for  us  all. 

Hence  do  we  find  that  money,  the  tool  which  so 

often  lightens  the  burdens  of  home,  is  also  some- 

188 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  189 

times  needed  to  lighten  the  burdens  of  missionary 
work,  for  the  missionary,  and  for  his  converts  in  for- 
eign lands;  enabling  him  to  devote  more  time  and 
strength  to  teaching  men;  and  enabling  them  to  en- 
joy Christian  privileges  which,  without  such  neigh- 
borly help,  would  have  been  unattainable  at  first. 

BEARING  OUR  OWN  BURDENS. 

But  truth  is  always  double,  each  truth  being  lim- 
ited and  deepened  by  some  other  truth  which  limits 
and  fulfils  it,  though  seeming  at  first  to  only  contra- 
dict it.  And  thus  it  is  that  side  by  side  of  the  pas- 
sive privilege  of  letting  others  bear  some  of  our  bur- 
dens for  us,  is  the  active  one  of  bearing  our  own 
burdens,  as  soon  as  we  are  able  to  do  it;  and  also 
helping  to  bear  the  burdens  of  others,  who  at  some 
one  point  happen  to  be  weaker  than  we  are,  and  so 
to  need  our  help.  And  on  this  duty  of  self-reliance 
and  self-help,  and  helpfulness  toward  others,  wise 
fathers  and  mothers  insist  very  early,  when  as  yet 
their  children  seem  incapable  of  helping  anyone. 
And  Scripture  is  also  full  of  verses  touching  upon 
this  duty;  such  as:  Galatians  6:5,  "For  every  man 
shall  bear  his  own  burden;"  or  II  Thess.  3:10,  where 
the  apostle  says  plainly:  "We  commanded  you  that 
if  any  man  would  not  work  neither  should  he  eat." 

And    again:     "We    beseech   you    brethren work 

with  your  own  hands,  as  we  commanded  you," 
I  Thess.  4:  10,  II.  —  Also  that  "the  Lord  loveth  a 
cheerful  giver"  (II  Cor.  9:  7),  and  that  'Ht  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive'  (Acts  20:35.) 


igo 


SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 


The  Duty  of  Giving. 


Yet  though  Scripture  and  experience  are  so  em- 
phatic in  condemning  a  lazy  man,  or  one  who  too 
long  lets  others  bear  too  many  of  his  burdens  for 
him,  and  so  clearly  points  out  the  privilege  and 
duty  of  giving  for  others'  good,  yet  this  is  one  of 
the  duties  which  many  missionaries  have  almost  ut- 
terly failed  to  inculcate  and  properly  enforce  upon 
their  converts,  —  thus  loading  their  churches  down 
with  a  lot  of  weakling,  over  grown  babies,  and  a 
good  sprinkling  of  hypocrites. 

For,  though  a  too  free  use  of  foreign  money  does 
not  turn  all  one's  converts  into  hypocrites,  it  does 
seriously  cripple  them  all,  and  deprive  the  native 
churches  of  their  vitality  and  power  to  move  and 
uplift  those  round  about  them. 

But  before  going  on  to  discuss  the  evils  of  a  too 
free  use  of  others'  money,  and  the  ins  and  outs  of 
self-support,  as  illustrated  by  Dr.  Wheeler's  life,  we 
wish  to  point  out  a  deeply  interesting  and  significant 
Bible  coincidence  which  connects  the  duty  of  self- 
consecration  and  property-consecration  very  closely 
with  the  teachings  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  himself. 
—  Here  it  is: 


Bear  ye  one  another's 
burdens  and  so  fulfil 
The  Law  of  Christ. — 
Gal.  6:2. 


Remember  The  Words 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how 
he  said.  It  is  more  bless- 
ed to  give  than  to  re- 
ceive.— Acts  20:35. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  191 

Thus  do  two  of  the  most  inspiring  watchwords  of 
a  large  Christian  benevolence  both  come  back  vivid- 
ly to  Jesus  Christ  himself;  and  thus  stlf-support  also 
comes  back  to  him.  And  how?  Simply  by  point- 
ing out  the  oft  forgotten  fact  that  our  Oriental 
churches  are  as  truly  entitled  to  the  blessing  of 
which  Christ  here  spoke,  as  we  are;  and  if  we,  in 
our  short-sighted  generosity,  deprive  them  of  this 
blessing  of  giving,  by  leaving  them  too  few  burdens 
to  bear,  we  simply  wrong  them  and  bring  great  sor- 
row and  pain  into  their  lives  and  our  own  —  even  as 
many  a  loving  parent  has  had  occasion  in  later  life 
to  regret  bitterly  the  way  in  which  their  own  too 
hasty  unselfishness  has  only  made  their  children 
more  selfish  and  unhappy. 

Oh  let  us  not  repeat  this  sad  mistake  on  a  larger 
scale;  and  then  wonder  why  Christ's  kingdom  is  so 
slow  in  coming! 

But  turning  to  questions  of  detail  we  find  that 
through  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Wheeler  and  of  a  com- 
paratively small  number  of  like  spirits,  it  has  at  last 
come  to  be  pretty  generally  admitted  that  native 
churches  can  do  something  toward  their  own  sup- 
port; and  that  some  time  or  other  each  church 
ought  to  become  wholly  self-supporting;  and  later 
on  we  hope  to  give  some  clear  statistical  proof  that 
there  is  a  wide  spread  and  steady  gain  in  the  prac- 
tical grasping  and  applying  of  this  difficult  truth  to 
mission  churches. 

But  a  close  study  of  the  problem  also  shows  that 
in  the  practical  details  of  self-support  and  mission- 
ary finance  there  are  many  perplexing  problems  to 


192  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

be  solved,  and  some  very  serious  difficulties  to  be 
overcome.  Hence  in  this  chapter  we  shall  enter 
into  the  study  of  many  details,  proud  that  the  Har- 
poot  missionaries  should  have  so  carefully  worked 
out  these  matters  of  detail,  on  which  success  so 
often  depends.  —  Our  materials  we  gather  in  part 
from  Dr.  Wheeler's  published  writings;  in  part  from 
the  things  which  he  and  his  colleagues  did;  and  in 
part  from  hundreds  of  conversations  in  which  we 
were  fortunate  enough  to  hear  Mr.  Wheeler  discuss 
various  points  of  mission  policy. 

"THE  PEOPLE  ARE  TOO  POOR." 

First  of  all  then,  at  the  very  outset  of  the  whole 
discussion,  we  meet  the  objection  that  "the  people 
in  many  districts  and  towns  are  too  poor  to  support 
their  own  teachers  and  preachers."  And  the  objec- 
tion is  one  which  is  so  plausible  at  first  sight  that 
thousands  have  been  deceived  by  it;  and  even  he 
who  afterwards  became  such  an  earnest  and  success- 
ful champion  of  self-support  admits  frankly  that  he 
too  was  deceived  by  it,  for  a  while,  and  did  not  try 
to  make  the  people  do  as  much  toward  self-support 
as  would  have  been  good  for  them.  But  fortunate- 
ly in  Harpoot  this  mistake  was  discovered  early 
enough  to  correct  it,  ere  it  could  do  much  mischief. 

That  people  in  mission  lands  are  often  very  poor 
no  one  will  deny;  but  the  question  is.  Are  they  so 
poor  that  we  have  any  right  to  depive  them  of  their 
self-respect?  and  of  the  gladsome  feeling  that  they 
too  have  a  share  in  supporting  God's  work  at  home, 
and  in  sending  the  gospel  to  other  lands?       For  how- 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  193 

ever  small  that  share  may  be  it  always  brings  a  bless- 
ing, if  the  little  be  but  given  in  love.  And  as  we 
shall  see  later  on,  even  those  who  are  too  poor  to  give 
money  can  give  work,  thus  enabling  each  one  to  give 
something. 

BUT  ARE  THE  PEOPLE  REALLY  TOO  POOR? 

But  let  us  come  right  down  to  figures  and  see  what 
this  argument  of  poverty  amounts  to;  and  in  order 
to  do  this  and  show  also  to  what  wild  extremes  it  has 
been  pressed,  we  will  simply  quote  the  words  of  a 
missionary  to  India,  who  really  thinks  he  is  a  friend 
to  self-support.  He  says,  "It  would  take  a  thousand 
Christians  in  our  field  to  furnish  half  of  a  native  min- 
ister's support."  (!) 

We  will  admit  that  this  statement  is  the  wildest  we 
have  ever  seen;  and  yet  it  is  a  sad  fact  that  a  good 
many  missionaries  do  secretly  hold  views  almost  as 
absurd.-  And  hence  it  will  be  well  worth  our  while 
to  look  into  even  so  extreme  a  statement  a  little 
more  fully.  —  If  then  it  would  take  a  thousand  native 
Christians  to  pay  one  half  their  minister's  salary,  it 
would  take  two  thousand  to  pay  the  whole;  or  al- 
lowing three  Christians  to  a  family,  it  would  take  660 
families.*  —  Now  then  supposing  each  family  to  give 
in  money,  food,  cloth  or  shelter  the  equivalent  of  just 
one  working  day  each  year,  what  do  we  get?     We 

*If  by  "a  thousand  Christians"  Dr. meant  a  thousand  heads  of  fam- 
ilies or  bread  winners  so  called,  then  to  pay  the  whole  salary  would  require 
two  thousand  families  instead  of  660,  a  statement  even  more  extravagant 
than  that  given  above.  But  wishing  to  argue  as  fairly  as  possible,  we  have 
assumed  that  by  "Christians"  he  means  church  members  of  either  sex. 

(13) 


194  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

get  a  minister  who  is  twice  as  well  off  financially  as 
the  average  of  his  congregation.  Or  supposing  each 
family  to  give  the  equivalent  of  two  days'  work  (or 
one  150th  of  their  income,)  we  have  a  minister  who 
is  four  times  as  well  off  financially  as  the  average  of 
his  congregation;  and  so  on  up.  Surely  this  is  non- 
sense; for  while  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  a  relig- 
ious leader  should  live  better  than  the  poorest  and 
most  unfortunate  of  his  people,  if  he  is  to  do  good, 
strong,  vigorous  work,  it  is  even  more  true  that  you 
are  almost  certain  to  cripple  him,  or  greatly  weaken 
him  morally  and  spiritually,  if  you  give  him  a  salary 
much  above  the  Average  of  what  his  people  earn;  for 
his  early  training  and  theirs,  and  his  needs  and  theirs, 
are  in  most  respects  the  same;  and  a  larger  salary 
would  only  make  him  more  selfish,  not  more  useful. 

SELF-SUPPORT  PROVED  POSSIBLE. 

But  now  let  us  turn  the  question  round,  and  ask 
how  many  live,  well-trained  Christians  it  would  real- 
ly take  to  pay  one  half  of  a  minister's  salary,  sup- 
posing that  minister's  salary  to  be  just  equal  to  the 
average  income  of  his  people,  here  again  remembering 
that  the  minister  has,  or  ought  to  have,  a  family  to 
support,  which  means  quite  a  good  deal  of  sewing, 
mending,  washing,  cooking,  laying  in  of  supplies, 
etc.,  etc,  all  of  which  can  be  done  in  part  by  others, 
if  some  of  his  congregation  are  not  able  to  pay  their 
share  in  cash. 

If  each  family,  then,  contribute  one  tenth  of  their 
income  or  labor  to  the  support  of  their  minister,  his 
whole  salary  could  be  paid  by  ten  families,  or  a  half 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  195 

of  it  by  five.  Nor  need  there  be  any  additional 
expense  for  church  music,  church  building,  church 
renting,  etc.,  or  anything  except  the  pastor's  salary. 
For  so  small  a  church  certainly  could  and  should  go 
back  to  the  sweet  old  apostolic  custom  of  meeting 
at  the  house  of  some  beloved  sister  or  brother  to 
talk  over  the  ways  of  God  with  men  (Acts  1:13,  20:8, 
12:12;  Rom.  16:3-5;  Col.  4:15,  etc.)  and  doubtless 
could  and  would  often  meet  even  in  more  sweetly 
simple  ways,  as  did  some  women  of  old,  (Acts  16:13.) 
where  Paul  and  Silas  found  them  by  the  river  side.* 
Nor  would  they  need  a  separate  schoolmaster;  for 
surely  the  pastor  of  so  small  a  church  could  and 
should  give  a  part  of  his  time  to  teaching;  and  would 
thus  be  saved  from  many  of  the  temptatious  that 
come  to  young  doctors,  lawyers  and  clergymen,  who 
are  not  almost  compelled  by  circumstances  to  work 
hard  and  long. 

Or  if  each  family  contributed  one  twentieth  (five 
per  cent)  of  their  income,  the  whole  salary  could  be 
paid  by  twenty  families,  or  half  of  it  by  ten.  Which 
would  be  giving  to  the  Lord  one  whole  working  day 
each  three  weeks.  And  surely  a  body  of  Christians 
who  are  too  stingy  to  do  this,  and  do  it  cheerfully, 
should  not  be  honored  by  forming  them  into  an  inde- 
pendent local  church,  and  giving  them  a  pastor  all 
their  own.  For  such  mismanagement  would  only 
deepen  the  tendency  toserve  the  Lord  half-heartedly, 

♦And  even  if  a  special  "meeting-  house"  or  meeting  room  were  thought  nec- 
essary, one  suited  to  the  needs  of  so  young  a  church  could  be  rented  or  built 
at  very  small  money-cost;  if  a  large  part  of  the  contributions  were  paid  in 
days'  labor,  as  has  often  been  done,  not  only  in  Turkey,  but  also  in  civilized 
America. 


196  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

or  only  in  name.  And  as  for  starting  a  full  fledged, 
independent  church  (as  distinguished  from  a  branch 
of  a  union  church)  with  less  than  ten  families,  it 
would  certainly  be  unwise.  For  such  a  church  would 
be  too  easily  upset  by  the  death,  removal  or  back- 
sliding of  a  very  few  members;  and  in  such  matters 
it  is  always  safer  to  run  the  risk  of  going  a  little  too 
slow  rather  than  too  fast. 

Remembering  then  that  the  native  pastor  is  not  a 
commander  in  chief,  or  a  major  general,  but  only  the 
leader  of  a  very  simple  community;  and  also  re- 
membering that  he  should  not  be  too  far  removed 
from  them,  either  socially  or  intellectually,  we  find 
that,  so  far  as  poverty  is  concerned,  the  problem  of 
self-supporting  native  churches  is  not  as  difficult,  even 
in  a  very  poor  community,  as  it  at  first  seems  to  be. 
For  the  best  leader  for  such  a  community  will  be  one 
who  from  childhood  has  lived  as  poorly  as  they  live, 
only  more  unselfishly  and  nobly. 

Yet  while  we  feel  that  this  objection  of  poverty 
has  very  little  weight,  save  as  one  of  those  difficul- 
ties in  the  way  which  all  good  movements  have  to 
overcome,  we  are  far  from  supposing  that  the  theo- 
retical removal  of  it  makes  everything  plain  sailing. 

HOW  SOON  SHOULD  A  CHURCH  BE  FORMED? 

Passing  on  then  to  difficulties  which  are  really  more 
serious,  we  come  first  of  all  to  the  question.  How 
soon  should  an  independent  local  church  be  formed? 
To  this  the  Harpoot  missionaries  gave  a  markedly 
financial  but  practical  answer;  "Not  until  there  are 
enough  true  Christians,  and  other  hopeful  inquirers, 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  197 

to  pay  at  least  a  half  of  the  pastor's  salary;"  and  as 
ten  families  could  easily  do  this,  as  we  have  already 
shown,  (page  195)  this  requirement  was  certainly  not 
an  unreasonable  one. 

But  still  the  question  will  arise,  should  they  make 
a  money  test  so  prominent  in  a  matter  that  at  first 
sight  seems  to  be  wholly  spiritual?  The  answer  is 
that  they  were  far-sighted  enough  to  see  that  no 
church  can  long  maintain  a  healthy  spiritual  life,  if 
organized  on  a  short-sighted  and  unbusinesslike  ba- 
sis; and  so  after  applying  the  spiritual  tests  and  cau- 
tions of  which  we  have  already  spoken,  in  Chapter 
Ten,  they  were  careful  to  insist  on  this  money  test  as 
an  added  essential  to  a  permanent  and  thriving  work. 

But  the  question  may  properly  be  asked.  What  be- 
came of  their  converts  and  inquirers  when  as  yetthere 
were  not  enough  for  a  church.  The  answer  is  that 
the  converts  were  advised  to  join  some  neighboring 
church  (see  Union  Churches,  page  150;)  and  could 
also  receive  help  in  supporting  some  unordained  man 
as  preacher  or  chatechist,  even  though  they  could  not 
as  yet  pay  half  his  sdAdiVy,  provided  they  were  willing 
to  do  a  reasonable  amount  toward  their  preacher  s  sup- 
port. Though  after  the  eventful  lessons  of  1861*  the 
missionaries  seem  to  have  wisely  avoided  holding 
regular  and  long  continued  preaching  services  in  any 
outstation,  until  some  resident  was  found,  deeply 
enough  interested  to  help,  at  least  a  little,  in  bearing 
the  expenses  of  such  preaching,  and  thus  make  sure 
of  the  work's  starting  on  a  healthy,  hearty  basis. 
But  furthermore  that  this  "regular  preaching"  should 

♦See  Chapter  Fourteen. 


198  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

always  be  by  some  one  whom  the  people  could  hope 
after  a  while  to  wholly  support;  lest  too  much  more 
costly  preaching,  native  or  missionary,  should  make 
the  people  discontented  with  a  less  showy  preacher 
later  on. 

HOW  SOON  SHOULD  A  CHURCH  BECOME  WHOLLY 
SELF-SUPPORTING? 

Another  question  that  arises  is.  How  soon  should 
a  church  become  wholly  self-supporting?  The  Har- 
poot  answer  to  this  question  was  that  ordinarily  a 
church  should  be  able  to  become  wholly  self-sup- 
porting within  five  years  from  the  time  when  it  was 
first  formed,  one-fifth  of  the  Board's  original  grant 
to  the  church  being  cut  off  each  year,  if  something 
evidently  exceptional  did  not  happen  to  justify  a 
longer  continuance  of  the  Board's  help.  Nor  did 
this  necessarily  assume  that  the  church  would  double 
in  five  years;  but  rather  that  growth  in  numbers  and 
in  generosity,  taken  together,  should  and  would 
make  such  a  decrease  possible  and  best,  provided 
each  church  was  formed  with  a  definite  understand- 
ing on  the  part  of  the  members  that  they  were  to 
give  more  each  year. 

And  yet  on  this  much  disputed  matter  the  most 
essential  points  are  certainly  clear  and  simple; 
namely,  that  each  station  and  missionary  society 
should  recognize  more  clearly  the  folly  of  forming 
weak  churches  that  have  not  at  least  made  a  gen- 
uine and  hearty  beginning  toward  self-support;  sec- 
ondly, that  they  should  set  some  definite  limit  to 
the  amount  of  help  which  they  are  willing  to  give; 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  199 

SO  as  to  create  a  sort  of  public  opinion;  thirdly,  that 
this  limit  should  be  such  as  to  require  some  good 
hard  work  and  self-denial  on  the  part  of  the  people; 
and,  finally,  that  there  should  be  a  definite  under- 
standing that  in  all  ordinary  cases  the  amount  of 
help  given  from  abroad  will  be  decreased  each  year 
as  rapidly  as  possible,  ''so  that  the  Lord's  Tnoney  may 
go  to  other  more  needy  communities  in  this  and  other 
lands!' 

A  careful  examination  of  the  figures  given  on 
pages  194  to  196  does,  it  seems  to  me,  show  that  the 
"one-half  rule"  is  none  too  strict,  especially  when 
we  remember  that  even  the  poorest  need  the  bless- 
ing of  feeling  that  God  has  a  partner's  share  in  all 
they  earn.  But  even  those  who  dare  not  take  such 
high  ground  should  at  least  insist  on  a  beginning 
being  made,  and  on  a  gradual  decrease  of  the  money 
help  given;  otherwise  no  amount  of  mere  preaching 
of  self-support  can  ever  do  any  good.  For  actions 
speak  louder  than  words. 

And  while  it  is  undoubtedly  better  that  we  should 
go  too  slow  than  too  fast;  one  thing  is  certain,  that 
simply  standing  still  and  letting  matters  drift  is  ut- 
terly wrong.  For  every  unguarded  payment  of 
money  on  our  part,  makes  it  harder  for  the  people 
to  ever  overcome  the  besetting  sin  of  covetousness, 
and  become  real  co  workers  with  God.*       And  if  in 

♦This  fact  is  strikingly  illustrated  by  Dr.  Luther  Gulick,  when  giving  some 
of  his  reasons  for  feeling  utterly  dissatisfied  with  Gospel  work  in  Italy  some 
years  ago.  He  writes:  "The  Free  Church  has  had  a  year  of  unusual  pros- 
perity; that  is,  they  have  had  very  large  receipts  of  money  from  England 
and  America,  and  have  consequently  done  less  for  themselves  than  last 
year."  (I)  Yet  this  is  by  no  means  a  solitary  instance  of  the  bad  effect  of 
reckless  giving.  •  (over) 


200  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

exceptional  cases  missionaries  fail  to  recognize  this 
much,  surely  we  have  a  case  where  compulsion 
should  be  used  by  the  home  board;  or  else  the  work- 
er dismissed  for  incompetence.  For  even  good 
men  have  no  right  to  waste  the  churches'  money, 
through  a  disastrously  short-sighted  misuse  of  that 
money,  however  well-meaning  their  folly  may  be. 

TO  WHOM  SHOULD  THE  MISSION  GRANT  BE  MADE? 

Following  still  further  the  question  how  to  most 
wisely  help  a  dependent  church,  we  find  the  mis- 
sionaries insisting  that  the  church  itself  shall  fix  the 
pastor's  salary;  and  furthermore  making  their  money 
grant  to  the  church,  instead  of  giving  it  directly  to 
the  pastor  himself;  the  effect  of  this  policy  being  to 
bind  pastor  and  church  more  closely  together,  and 
also  greatly  lessen  the  liability  to  get  the  salaries 
too  high.  For  the  churches,  realizing  that  the  whole 
salary  must  soon  be  paid  by  themselves,  were  more 
careful  not  to  offer  too  much;  and  the  pastors,  real- 
izing this  same  fact,  were  more  careful  not  to  ask  or 
expect  too  much;  and  were  also  softened  by  being 
oft  reminded  of  where  their  salaries  came  from,  and 
of  how  much  love  and  sacrifice  they  represented  on 
their  people's  part;  thus  going  on  very  evidently  to- 
ward a  truer  self-consecration,  and  a  tenderer,  deep- 
er love  for  the  people  whom  they  were  to  serve. 


Here  too  we  should  explain  what  Dr.  Wheeler  meant  by  covetousness;  it  was 
not  miserliness,  nor  was  it  stinginess;  but  simply  excessive  love  of  money, 
and  a  wish  to  spend  it  all,  as  far  as  possible,  on  one's  self  and  one's  family  — 
like  the  man  who  asked  the  Lord  to  bless  "me  and  my  wife;  my  son  John 
and  his  wife;  us  four  and  no  more." — That  man  was  undoubtedly  covetous; 
though  he  may  not  have  been  stingy. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  201 

Should   the  Churches  Have  a  Common 
Treasury  ? 

Here  too  is  the  best  place  to  speak  of  another 
matter;  namely,  that  the  missionaries  were  careful 
to  advise  each  church  to  pay  its  own  bills,  instead  of 
having  a  common  treasury  out  of  which  all  salaries 
were  paid.  For  the  average  man  will  give  far 
more,  if  he  knows  his  money  is  going  right  straight 
to  the  pastor  or  preacher  he  loves,  and  that  the  loved 
pastor  is  depending  on  it,  than  he  will  if  he  knows 
that  his  money  is  going  into  some  general  treasury, 
which  will  then  pay  the  salary  and  make  up  all  de- 
ficiencies, if  he  happens  to  give  less  than  usual,  or 
less  than  he  might  have  given,  with  alittle  extraeffort. 

MAKING  ALL  GRANTS  CONDITIONAL. 

But  the  missionaries  soon  found  that  even  good 
men  need  strict  rules;  and  that  unbusinesslike  habits 
tend  strongly  to  encourage  selfishness  and  laziness; 
and  so  were  shrewd  and  wise  enough  to  make  and 
enforce  another  rule;  namely  that  all  mission  grants 
should  be  conditional  on  the  people's  first  paying 
their  part  of  the  month's  salary. 

But  says  a  short-sighted  objector,  this  was  unfair; 
for  it  would  only  result  in  starving  out  an  innocent 
man,  because  of  his  people's  neglect  or  selfishness. 
But  that  is  not  true.  For  if  the  pastor  had  done  his 
duty,  and  the  fault  really  lay  with  the  people,  every 
one  knew  that  the  missionaries  would  gladly  give  that 
pastor  work  in  some  more  deserving  community,  or 
in  pioneering.  —  So  that  no  faithful  one  need  suffer. 


202  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

But  just  here  another  objector  turns  up  and  says  it 
would  be  unfair  to  the  church  to  thus  deprive  them 
of  their  pastor;  for  their  failure  to  pay,  or  pay  in  full, 
mi^ht  be  due  to  a  serious  failure  of  crops,  or  some 
other  like  cause  which  would  partially  excuse  it. 
To  which  we  simply  reply,  that  such  exceptional 
cases  would  of  course  call  for  an  exceptional  com- 
promise; but  do  not  in  any  way  affect  the  wisdom  of 
the  general  law. 

"WHOM  HE  LOVETH  HE   CHASTENETH." 

But  some  will  go  even  farther  and  claim  that,  even 
when  the  people's  non-payment  of  their  part  springs 
from  a  blame-worthy  neglect,  it  would  still  be  better 
for  the  missionary  to  pay  his  money  and  then  "argue 
with  them  in  a  brotherly  way,"  instead  of  quietly 
inviting  the  good  pastor  to  go  and  work  elsewhere, 
and  thus  "crippling  the  work  at  an  important  center." 

To  which  we  reply  that  the  world  is  already  too 
full  of  young  men  and  young  women  and  young 
churches  that  have  been  ruined  or  weakened  for  life 
by  a  short-sighted  unwillingness  on  the  part  of  their 
parents  to  sometimes  chasten  them  in  love;  while  the 
cases  are  comparatively  few  where  a  firm  but  gentle 
and  really  loving  insistence  on  their  being  true  to 
themselves  and  others  has  ever  permanently  discour- 
aged or  even  seemed  to  injure  any  church,  or  young 
man  or  young  woman.  And  the  missionary  parent 
who  lets  a  lazy  church  ride  astride  his  neck  will  soon 
find  that  he  is  their  helpless  slave  and  misleader, 
rather  than  their  leader  and  teacher.  While  he  who 
dares  to  punish  zvill  seldom  have  to  do  it\  and,  when 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  203 

he  does  do  it,  will  have  the  joy  of  soon  seeing  marks 
of  genuine  repentance,  in  nearly  every  case  where 
punishment  has  to  be  administered. 

And  even  in  the  rare  cases  where  a  community 
persists  in  its  wrong  doing,  and  prefers  money  to 
manliness  and  honesty  and  love,  it  is  better  for  the 
world,  better  for  all  the  surrounding  churches,  and 
better  even  for  that  community  and  church  that  the 
church  should  die,  and  be  replaced  later  on  by  a  bet- 
ter one,  that  is  not  rotten  to  the  core. 

WHO  SHALL  CIRCULATE   THE  SUBSCRIPTION 
PAPER? 

But  when  we  come  right  down  to  the  question  why 
missionaries  who  believe  in  self-support  have  so  often 
failed  in  really  enforcing  it,  we  find  still  another  point 
at  which  they  have  often  failed,  namely  in  an  unwill- 
ingness to  take  right  hold  and  start  the  wheel  a  roll- 
ing, by  good,  hard,  hand  to  hand  work. 

And  we  feel  sure  that  had  not  Mr.  Wheeler,  in  be- 
half of  the  missionaries,  been  willing  to  circulate  in 
person  the  subscription  paper  in  the  first  church 
which  they  ever  brought  up  to  self-support,  —  Har- 
poot  station  would  never  have  made  such  wonderful 
strides  in  planting  independent  churches  as  we  shall 
have  the  pleasure  of  recording  later  on.  For  the 
battle  was  a  hard  one,  and  without  Yankee  pluck  and 
wit  and  wisdom,  right  at  the  fore  front  ot  the  battle, 
there  would  have  been  little  likelihood  of  their  suc- 
ceeding so  soon,  or  so  markedly. 

"But  do  you  mean  to  say  that  the  missionary  should 
always  circulate  the  subscription  paper  in  person?" 


2o4  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

No,  I  do  not.  But  when  the  ice  is  to  be  broken  for 
the  first  time,  especially  in  the  teeth  of  your  own  or 
your  predecessors'  previous  mistakes,  then  nothing 
but  Occidental  pluck,  supported  by  a  firm  faith  in 
God  and  clear  convictions  of  duty,  can  ever  get  the 
movement  started.  For  the  little  hitches  and  the 
great  hitches  to  be  overcome,  the  selfishness,  the 
inertia  and  the  honest  misconceptions,  are  indeed  ter- 
rible at  first.  But  when  the  work  is  done,  then  your 
reward  begins,  and  it  is  a  great  one.  For  when  the 
frost  of  covetousness  has  once  been  overcome,  many 
a  violet  and  snowdrop  and  crocus  begins  to  blossom 
in  homes  and  hearts  which  selfishness  and  short- 
sighted love  had  till  then  kept  cold  and  desolate. 
Thus  was  it  at  Harpoot;  thus  will  it  ever  be. 

Let  us  then  briefly  review  a  few  of  the  misconcep- 
tions which  the  missionary  has  to  meet  and  conquer 
in  the  first  campaign,  though  these  are  only  samples 
of  a  mighty  host. 

MISINTERPRETING  SCRIPTURE. 

Well,  first  of  all,  one  man,  or  rather  one  large 
group  of  men,  will  honestly  or  dishonestly,  quote 
that  much  abused  Bible  verse,  Matt.  io:8.  "Freely 
ye  have  received,  freely  give;"  forgetful  that  only 
two  verses  farther  on  Christ  himself  says,  "The 
workman  is  worthy  of  his  meat,"  and  so  may  claim 
it  from  the  people  among  whom  he  is  working. 
"Freely"  thus  referring  not  to  the  fact  that  he  gets 
no  wages;  but  rather  to  the  fact  that  he  gives  gen- 
erously such  things  as  he  has.  So  that  this  verse 
which  bids  the  pastor  give  of  his  love,  and  prayers 


THE   PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  205 

and  experience  generously,  is  also  a  reason  for  the 
other  man's  signing  the  subscription  paper  gener- 
ously (instead  of  not  signing  it  at  all)  thus  freely 
giving  of  his  money  for  the  support  of  a  good  cause. 

ACCUSING  THE  MISSIONARY  OF  INSINCERITY. 

Then  again  another  class  claimed,  generally  be- 
hind the  missionary's  back,  that  he  was  simply  try- 
ing to  feather  his  own  nest,  by  saving  the  Board's 
money  to  spend  it  on  himself.  For  these,  when 
found  out,  as  they  were  pretty  apt  to  be  after  a 
while,  a  sound  thrashing,  administered  in  words  in- 
stead of  blows,  was  the  best  possible  treatment; 
for  they  were  cowardly  hypocrites,  trying  to  make 
a  place  of  honor  for  themselves  in  God's  church, 
without  caring  a  whit  for  God's  law.  In  all  such 
cases  the  missionary's  daily  life  sufficiently  answer- 
ing the  charge;  and  the  rebuke  being  simply  meant 
to  break  the  influence  of  the  deceiver  over  more 
pure  minded  men,  who  from  love  of  money  might 
be  tempted  to  follow  his  lead. 

"LET  THE  MINISTER  SUPPORT  HIMSELF." 

Then  next  came  the  class,  alas  too  common,  even 
in  Christian  America,  who  could  see  no  reason  why 
they  should  help  support  the  minister.  "Why  not 
let  him  support  himself,  as  I  do?" — to  whom  the 
missionary  had  to  expound  I  Cor.  9:  verses  7,  11,  13 
and  14,  showing  them  that  the  minister  was  sup- 
porting himself,  as  truly  as  they  were;  and  that  his 
salary  was  something  which  the  people  owed  him, 
{for  service  done\)  though  he  did  claim  that  the  rich 


2o6  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

were  in  duty  bound  to  give  enough  to  lighten  the 
cost  of  church  blessings  to  the  poor  of  the  congre- 
gation. 

"I  AM  TOO  POOR." 

Then  came  another  class  of  well  to  do,  or  even 
rich  men,  who  admitted  that  the  pastor  was  a  good 
man,  doing  a  good  work,  for  which  he  was  certainly 
entitled  to  pay;  but  claimed  that  they  personally 
were  too  poor  or  too  straightened  in  business  to 
give  much;  and  so  asked  to  be  excused;  or  else  let 
off  with  a  ridiculously  small  subscription. 

With  these  the  argument  took  many  different 
forms,  all  the  way  from  tender  pleading  and  serious 
joking  to  sharp  rebuke  and  public  protest.  For 
these  were  generally  men  high  in  social  standing, 
and  some  of  them  even  professed  Christians,  and 
men  whose  evil  example,  if  connived  at,  would  mis- 
lead and  upset  many  a  poorer,  humbler  man. 

One  illustration  of  the  jocose  style  of  argument 
which  Mr.  Wheeler  has  put  on  record,  is  so  quaint 
as  to  be  worth  repeating.  A  certain  rich  man  who 
always  took  a  prominent  seat  in  the  pewless  church, 
having  for  himself  a  special  reserved  cushion,  tried 
to  play  the  poverty  dodge.  But  Mr.  Wheeler  was 
equal  to  him.  He  simply  said,  "All  right,  only  we 
shall  have  to  assign  you  a  poor  man's  seat  with  a 
box  of  dirt  to  sit  on.  Then  others  won't  take  of- 
fense at  your  not  giving  anything."*  But  the  man 
concluded  that  on  the  whole  he  better  give. 

♦Oriental  houses  and  churches  often  have  a  dirt  floor  all  over;  while  some 
are  boarded  at  one  end  and  dirt  at  the  other,  where  no  one  sits,  except  when 
there  is  an  unusually  large  crowd. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  207 

Then  came  the  man  who  declared,  that  in  the  old 
Armenian  church  he  never  gave  as  much  as  the 
missionary  was  now  asking  him  to  give.  To  which 
the  missionary  simply  replied,  well  then  you  better 
go  back  to  the  old  Armenian  church,  if  a  cheap  re- 
ligion is  all  you  care  for.  Or  you  might  even  turn 
Turk;  for  the  Turks  w'lW  pay  yoii  for  doing  that. — 
But  this  remark  seems  almost  too  grim;  unless  per- 
chance the  man  was  a  consummate  hypocrite,  and 
needed  a  fearful  probing. 

Then  at  other  times  he  would  take  the  "poor 
man"  at  his  word  and  begin  to  point  out  laughingly 
to  the  surrounding  crowd  some  of  the  evidences  of 
poverty  in  his  daily  expenditures,  this,  for  generous 
rhinded  men,  who  only  needed  a  little  uplift  to  win 
them,  being  a  most  effective  argument. 

Then  last  of  all  came  one  rich  man,  already  with- 
in the  church,  whom  the  other  native  brethren  were 
so  anxious  not  to  grieve,  that  they  offered  to  pay 
his  subscription  for  him,  if  the  missionary  would 
only  let  him  off.  And  reluctantly  the  missionary 
did  it;  only  to  feel  afterwards,  when  too  late,  that 
from  that  day  the  man  was  doubly  hardened,  and 
never  really  became  a  follower  of  Christ. 

But  there  were  others  who  were  really  poor,  very 
poor;  but  still  needed  the  blessing  that  comes  from 
entering  into  partnership  with  God;  and  soon  came 
to  feel  that  the  one  or  two  cents  a  week  which  they 
could  pledge  was  indeed  a  great  privilege.  And, 
among  rich  and  poor  alike,  it  was  found  that  enter- 
ing into  partnership  with  God  made  life  brighter 
and  honesty  easier,  for  all  their  work  now  seemed 
sacred. 


2o8  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Still   Other  Difficulties. 

But  the  missionarj^'s  work  was  exceedingly  hard; 
and  sometimes  he  would  come  home  all  tired  out 
and  say,  "I  can't  stand  this  any  longer."  But, 
nevertheless,  after  a  few  hours  of  rest  he  would  slip 
out  and  go  at  it  again;  and  so  the  work  went  on. 

Yet  I  cannot  wonder  that  he  wearied  of  it  sadly, 
and  was  at  times  too  harsh  with  some  stiff  necked 
ones.  Yet  far  better  thus  than  that  he  should  have  been 
too  easy;  for  the  lessons  he  taught  them  were  greatly 
needed  and  were  full  of  blessing;  even  if  at  times 
they  were  a  little  too  roughly  taught;  and  even 
though  the  missionary  was  sometimes  very  stern, 
one  fact  was  very  widely  known:  This  money  raiser 
had  a  warm,  kind  heart  and  really  loved  the  poor]  a 
requisite  which  should  never  be  lost  sight  of  in 
choosing  your  money  collectors;  for  a  cold  and  sim- 
ply formal  collector  will  do  more  harm  than  good 
and  make  men  honestly  hate  your  church,  or  at 
least  carefully  avoid  it.* 

Then  later  on  came  the  discouraging  time  when 
some  who  had  begun  giving  wanted  to  be  excused 
from  giving  any  more;  and  some  really  did  insist  on 
stopping,  because  the  root  of  the  matter  was  not  in 
them  (Matt.  13:20-21).  But  meanwhile  a  much 
larger  number  had  learned  to  love  to  give;  and  so 
the  good  work  went  on;  till  the  church  which  had 
at  first  given  half  its  pastor's  salary  reluctantly,  was 

*Nor  should  the  subscription  list  ever  take  the  form  of  a  tax  or  dun  on 
church  members,  determined  by  a  church  finance  committee;  but  should  in 
most  cases  be  privately  settled  between  each  collector  and  donor,  as  a  free- 
will offering  in  which  Christians  and  unchristians  are  all  alike  invited  to 
join,  for  their  own  good,  Privately. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  209 

willing,  yes,  glad,  for  the  most  part,  to  give  all. 
After  which  time  other  half  self-supporting  churches 
began  to  spring  up  in  rapid  succession,  and  then  to 
go  on  like  the  Harpoot  city  church  toward  full  self- 
support.  For  the  ice  was  broken;  and  public  opin- 
ion was  strongly  on  the  side  of  self-support. 

And  let  me  call  attention  here  to  the  fact,  to 
which  I  shall  revert  again  later  on,  that  though  Mr. 
Wheeler  be  leved  most  heartily  in  self-denial  and 
self-sacrifice,  he  oftener  emphasized  \.\\q  privilege  of 
giving,  and  this  it  was  that  made  his  teachings  on 
this  subject  take  so  deep  a  hold  on  all  who  came 
under  his  guidance. 

Then  too  the  giving  to  which  he  accustomed  the 
people  was  systematic,  definite  and  frequent;  not 
so  much,  once  for  all,  or  once  a  year,  but  some;  defin- 
ite sum  each  week,  until  a  change  of  income  made 
an  increase  possible  or  a  decrease  mevitable;  thus 
making  the  giving  a  great  deal  easier,  and  the  bless- 
ing a  great  deal  richer  and  deeper.  And  his  ex- 
perience and  the  experience  of  the  Harpoot  churches 
clearly  illustrated  the  fact  that,  while  generosity  in 
money  matters  is  no  proof  of  conversion,  it  is  a 
great  help  in  deepening  and  perfecting  the  Chris- 
tian life  of  those  who  are  already  converted,  and 
also  of  those  who  are  almost  persuaded. 

BUILDING  CHURCHES,  SCHOOLS  AND  PAR- 
SONAGES. 

Now  let  us  turn  to  another  matter  which  must  often 
come  up  for  consideration  in  a  successful  mission  sta- 
tion; namely  the  building  of  churches,  schools  and 
(14) 


210  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

parsonages.  For  here  too  we  find  that  Mr.  Wheeler 
and  his  colleagues  soon  came  to  have  a  pretty  clearly 
defined  policy,  well  worthy  of  study,  though  it  will 
not  take  long  to  outline  it. 

First  of  all,  then,  all  grants  for  building,  like  those 
for  salaries  were  conditional  on  the  people's  first  do- 
ing what  they  agreed  to,  though  they  might  be,  and 
I  think  generally  were,  paid  in  installments;  so  much, 
"when  the  walls  are  up,"  and  so  much  on  completion. 

Secondly,  they  generally,  if  not  always,  felt  that 
most  of  the  cost  of  building  should  be  borne  by  the 
people;  the  mission  board  simply  coming  in  to  tip 
the  balance;  in  most  cases  the  Board's  grant  being 
not  more  than  a  third,  fourth,  or  fifth  of  the  whole; 
though  I  am  unable  as  yet  to  find  any  general  rule, 
save  that  I  think  that  in  later  years  the  missionaries 
were  less  free  in  giving  than  they  were  at  first,  real- 
izing more  clearly  the  danger  of  letting  mere  exter- 
nals get  ahead  of  the  real  growth  of  the  church  itself. 

Thirdly,  they  did  not  favor  building  fine  churches 
to  attract  the  crowd;  feeling  that  a  plain  but  neat 
edifice,  well  filled  with  earnest  truth  seekers  would 
do  more  good  than  a  finer  one  only  half  full,  or  filled 
in  part  at  least  with  mere  pleasure-seekers;  and,  more- 
over, that  occasional  rebuilding  and  enlarging  was 
safer  and  healthier  for  the  spiritual  growth  of  a  church 
than  building  large  at  first;  a  too  costly  church  build- 
ing both  on  mission  soil  and  at  home  often  proving 
more  of  a  hindrance  than  a  help  to  a  church's  growth 
and  usefulness  and  to  all  other  churches  that  are  near 
enough  to  come  under  the  spell  of  its  fine  and  showy 
edifice. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  211 

Fourthly,  that  all  churches,  schools  and  parson- 
ages, in  the  building  of  which  the  Board  had  a  share, 
should  be  built  in  simple,  oriental  style,  from  plans 
and  estimates  approved  and  corrected  by  a  mission- 
ary, so  as  to  prevent  costly  blunders. 

And,  fifthly,  they  seem  generally  to  have  care- 
fully avoided  buying  or  building  school  rooms, 
chapels  and  preachers'  houses  at  the  Board's  ex- 
pense outside  of  Harpoot  station,  where  the  college 
and  theological  seminary  and  missionary  residences 
necessarily  involved  much  building  and  buying. 
But  in  their  outstations  their  policy  seems  to  have 
been  to  rent;  and  if  they  could  not  rent,  then  sim- 
ply rely  on  occasional  visitations,  meanwhile  spend- 
ing most  of  their  strength  elsewhere,  at  points  where 
the  gospel  was  welcome  enough  to  make  renting 
possible,  and  not  too  costly.  And  though  I  am 
sorry  to  say  that  I  cannot  as  yet  lay  my  hands  on 
any  systematic  discussion  of  this  topic  by  Mr. 
Wheeler,  either  in  writing,  in  print  or  in  memory,  I 
think  we  can  see  pretty  clearly,  even  without  this 
help,  some  of  the  reasons  for  their  doing  as  they 
did  and  renting  instead  of  buying  property. 

Firstly,  because,  in  case  the  town  later  on  turns 
out  to  be  an  unpromising  one,  the  sale  of  said  build- 
ings is  almost  certain  to  involve  a  large  money  loss; 
being,  as  it  would  be,  a  forced  sale,  in  a  hostile  com- 
munity, by  an  alien,  non-resident  owner,  all  of  which 
points  involve  serious  drawbacks. 

But,  secondly,  buying  or  building  in  a  town  in- 
volves great  risk  of  the  missionary's  persisting  in 
occupying  the  place,  and  hoping  against  hope,  when 


212  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

he  might  be  working  to  much  better  advantage  in 
some  other  town. 

And,  finally,  even  if  the  work  proves  thoroughly 
successful,  the  missionary's  ownership  of  a  chapel, 
school  house  or  preacher's  house  in  the  town  de- 
prives the  early  converts  of  one  of  their  easiest  and 
most  helpful  lessons  in  self-support  and  self- 
consecration,  namely  the  opportunity  to  supply 
some  sort  of  homely  shelter,  at  their  own  cost, 
or  in  their  own  homes,  for  the  teacher,  the  school 
and  the  infant  church.  And  if  the  opposition  at 
any  point  is  so  blind  and  bitter  that  a  preacher's 
house  even  cannot  be  rented,  then  surely  thai  is  not 
a  place  where  a  missionary  or  helper  could  wisely 
settle;  for  it  will  always  be  found  that  under  such 
conditions  mere  occasional  visits  make  a  deeper  and 
healthier  impression,  and  a  better  entering  wedge 
than  permanent  occupation. 

HOW    TO    DEAL    WITH    A    CHURCH    ALREADY 
FORMED  ON  A  WRONG  FINANCIAL  BASIS. 

But  how  are  we  to  deal  with  a  church  or  body  of 
churches,  already  formed  on  a  wrong  financial  basis? 
To  this  question  Mr.  Wheeler  gives  us  a  very  defin- 
ite answer.  For  the  first  church  which  he  and  his 
colleagues  ever  brought  to  self-support,  and  the  one 
in  which  he  himself  went  about  with  a  subscription 
paper,  as  told  above,  was  just  such  a  church;  i.  e.  a 
mere  charity  church,  formed  by  an  earlier  mission- 
ary, before  Messrs.  Allen,  Barnum  and  Wheeler 
even  entered  the  field.  Then,  a  few  years  later, 
they  had  the  task  laid  upon  them  of  bringing  up  to 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  213 

self-support  several  other  churches  which  had  been 
transferred  to  Harpoot  from  a  neighboring  station 
and  had  learned  to  rely  on  the  Board  for  nearly 
everything;  —  and,  although  the  missionaries  them- 
selves were  almost  disheartened  at  the  prospect,  it 
was  pleasant  afterwards  to  look  back  and  see  how 
soon  these  churches  also  fell  in  line,  now  that  public 
opinion  among  good  men,  both  inside  and  outside 
of  the  church,  had  come  to  see  what  an  important 
and  blessed  thing  it  was  to  thus  hasten  on  towards 
self-support,  in  a  spirit  of  love  and  self-consecration. 
Of  course,  in  the  case  of  such  churches,  some 
slight  compromises  had  to  be  made  for  awhile;  for 
rules  were  made  for  men,  not  men  for  rules.  But 
when  they  found  that  they  must  rely  on  poor  village 
pastors  for  the  communion,  not  on  the  missionaries; 
and  were  in  other  ways  treated  like  sick  churches, 
not  like  well  ones,  all  but  one  of  these  weak  churches 
took  the  necessary  steps  toward  self-support,  and 
ceased  to  be  the  burden  which  the  missionaries  feared 
they  would  be.  Though  the  best  results  of  the  self- 
supporting  policy  were  seen  in  the  way  in  which  new 
churches  and  new  communities  were  being  quickened 
into  life  all  over  the  land.  For,  though  the  quicken- 
ing was  less  in  some  communities  than  in  others, 
and  the  struggle  against  laziness  and  selfishness 
harder  among  some  shiftless  peoples  than  among 
others,  the  general  effect  was  always  the  same; 
and  the  missionaries  came  to  realize  that  insistance 
on  self-help  zvas  most  needed  at  the  very  points  where 
it  was  hardest  to  enforce. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SELF-SUPPORT  CONTINUED;    A  FEW 
IMPORTANT   DETAILS. 

PAYING  TOO  HIGH   SALARIES. 

Going  on  now  to  discuss  some  further  questions 
of  detail  which  have  often  perplexed  missionaries 
and  crippled  them  in  their  work,  we  come  to  the 
question  of  salaries.  For  one  of  the  surest  ways  of 
utterly  Spoiling  a  good  workman  is  to  give  him  too 
high  a  salary;  while  one  of  the  surest  ways  Qi simply 
crippling  him  a  little  is  to  give  him  too  small  a  salary. 

But  so  far  as  our  observation  goes,  missionaries 
and  missionary  boards  are  such  kind  hearted  peoole 
that  they  err  oftener  on  the  side  of  giving  too  much 
rather  than  too  little.  Hence  the  first  question  that 
we  must  discuss  is  that  of  paying  too  high  salaries. 

And  that  missionaries  have  sometimes  erred  in 
doing  this,  will  be  sufficiently  illustrated  for  my  pur- 
pose by  a  quotation  from  an  official  document, 
nearly  forty  years  old;  (The  report  of  the  A.  B.  C. 
F.  M.  for  1859,  p.  58)   which  informs  us  that  "The 

majority  of  the  church   members  in    B support 

their  families  upon  less  than  4000  piastres  per  year; 

and  few,  if  any,  have  an  income  of  more  than  6000; 
214 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.       215 

while  their  preacher  receives  10800;"  and  then  goes 
on  to  inform  us  that  this  was  but  a  sample  case  in 
that  region,  and  that  the  preacher  s  salary  was  paid 
mostly  by  the  missionaries. 

But  this  we  are  glad  to  say  was  long  ago,  when 
Dr.  Wheeler  was  as  yet  a  young  man,  just  beginning 
with  others  to  lead  on  the  fight  for  a  wiser  use  of 
money;  and  in  most  parts  of  the  world  things  have 
changed  a  good  deal  since  then.  And  yet  we  dare 
say,  that  even  then,  in  spite  of  such  serious  blunders, 
each  dollar  sent  abroad  accomplished  more  for 
Christ  and  the  world  than  it  could  have  accomplished 
had  it  been  spent  in  America.  For  some  lessons  of 
world  wide  importance  can  be  learned  only  by  ex- 
perience; and  better  learned  abroad  than  at  home. 

And  yet  mistakes,  however  instructive,  need  cor- 
recting; for  only  when  corrected  do  they  reveal  a 
truth;  hence  the  importance  of  the  problem  we  are 
discussing.  Nor  should  we  forget  that  even  now 
missionaries  are  doubtless  often  tempted  to  repeat 
on  a  less  startling  scale  the  same  mistake  of  paying 
too  high  salaries  to  their  native  helpers;  while  mis- 
sionary boards,  both  home  and  foreign,  are  also  in 
danger  of  injuring  their  work  by  sometimes  paying 
too  high  salaries  and  at  other  times  no  salary  at  all! 
Let  us  then  try  to  state  clearly  the  principles  by 
which  Mr.  Wheeler  and  others  in  Turkey,  India, 
Africa,  China,  Japan,  America  and  elsewhere  have 
sought  to  work  out  this  perplexing  problem.  For  a 
perplexing  one  it  certainly  is. 


2i6  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

"Why  Pay  any  Salary  at  all?" 

First  of  all  we  find  them  frankly  admitting  and 
asserting  that  most  men  cannot  do  good  work  for 
the  Lord  on  an  empty  stomach,  or  with  an  anxious 
brain.  Hence  they  admit  and  assert  that  mission- 
aries and  native  workers  will  do  better  work,  if  we 
can  guarantee  them  enough  of  a  salary  to  enable 
them  to  meet  their  more  urgent  daily  needs,  preserve 
their  health,  bodily,  mental,  and  spiritual,  and,  by 
strict  economy  also  supply  themselves  with  the  more 
common  comforts  of  life  around  them,  comforts 
which  are  really  necessary  for  preserving  good  health, 
though  the  connection  is  so  subtle  that  many  people 
fail  to  see  it. 

BETTER  PAY  TOO  LITTLE  THAN  TOO  MUCH. 

But  secondly,  we  find  them  asserting  that  it  is  far 
safer  and  better  that  a  salary  should  be  too  low  than 
too  high;  for  too  low  a  salary  only  involves  hard- 
ship, delay  d^nd partial  loss :  while  the  paying  of  too 
high  a  salary  involves  in  many  cases  a  positive 
blight  on  some  parts  of  the  worker's  higher,  deeper, 
spiritual  life.  Some  of  course  are  wise  enough  and 
good  enough  to  detect  this  danger,  and  quickly  pay 
the  surplus  back  to  the  Lord's  treasury  in  some 
other  form;  as  did  Wm.  Carey,  who  out  of  a  yearly 
salary  of  fifteen  thousand  pounds  sterling  paid  him 
by  the  East  India  Company,  for  teaching  Bengalee, 
Mahratta  and  Sanscrit  in  one  of  their  Indian  col- 
leges, was  wise  and  unselfish  enough  to  devote  all 
but  forty  pounds  of  it  to  missionary  work.* 

*He  did  the  work  of  three  professors  and  received  the  salary  of  three, 
even  ordinary  professors  receiving  five  thousand  pounds  a  year! 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  217 

But,  unfortunately,  even  among  good  men  and 
women,  Hindoos,  Armenians  and  Americans,  such 
men  are  the  exception  aad  not  the  rule.  For,  if  we 
get  more  than  is  good  for  us,  we  are  almost  sure  to 
keep  or  spend  most  of  it  for  ourselves. 

PROPER  USE  OF  TRUST  FUNDS. 

Thirdly,  they  have  pointed  out  the  fact  that  salaries 
paid  out  of  trust  funds,  raised  for  benevolent  pur- 
poses, by  donors  scattered  far  and  wide,  should 
never  be  as  high  as  the  same  man  could  get  in  other 
forms  of  work,  or  as  settled  pastors  get  from  the 
churches  that  enjoy  and  support  them,  often  more 
bountifully  than  is  for  their  good.  For  knowing 
pretty  definitely  from  whom  his  big  salary  comes 
puts  a  settled  pastor  under  bonds  of  gratitude, 
which  the  agent  of  a  society  is  not  apt  to  feel  as 
keenly.  Hence  the  danger  line  is  much  sooner 
reached  in  society  work. 

This  point  Dr.  Wheeler  made  very  emphatic;  for 
he  soon  saw  how  demoralizing  was  the  thought  that 
"the  Board  is  rich  and  can  easily  afford  to  pay  me 
a  little  more."  For  he  knew  that  the  Board's 
money,  much  of  it,  came  from  very  poor  people; 
and  that  the  man  who  felt  justified  in  trying  to  grab 
all  he  could  get  of  it,  was,  either  wholly  mercenary, 
or  else  temporarily  unfitted  for  Christian  service  by 
a  bad  attack  of  money-fever,  which  so  often  ruins 
even  well-meaning  men,  if  not  checked  promptly. 

And  well  do  I  remember  how  many  of  the  sweet- 
est "Thank  yous"  of  his  later  life  came  from  men 
whom  he  had  sternly  but  lovingly  checked  at  this 
very  point. 


2i8  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Putting  on  Airs. 

Fourthly,  Dr.  Wheeler  was  quick  to  suspect  that 
a  teacher  or  preacher  was  being  too  highly  paid  for 
his  work,  when  he  began  to  put  on  airs,  and  think 
himself  so  much  belter  than  the  people  among 
whom  he  worked  that  he  could  no  longer  enter  into 
their  simpler  joys  and  sorrows.  And  these  sus- 
picions often  proved  true. 

And  so,  whenever  he  and  his  colleagues  saw  any 
signs  of  a  mercenary  spirit,  or  a  tendency  to  give 
the  love  of  money  too  large  a  place  in  one's  thoughts 
and  motives,  they  felt  sure  that  the  man's  salary 
was  already  too  big,  and  acted  accordingly.  For 
they  felt  that  it  was  better  that  the  salaries  they 
paid  should  be  so  small  as  to  seem  a  positive  draw- 
back rather  than  that  they  should  be  large  enough 
to  tempt  mercenary  and  self-seeking  men.  For 
experience  shows  that  a  very  few  mercenary  workers 
will  soon  taint  nearly  the  whole  flock;  and  all  of 
their  fellows  in  the  ministry. 

MAKING  EVERY  DOLLAR  COUNT. 

Fifthly,  Dr.  Wheeler  and  others  have  very  prop- 
erly called  attention  to  the  importance  of  Christian 
economy  in  this  matter  of  salaries.  For  surely  the 
Lord's  money  should  be  so  spent  as  to  accomplish  as 
much  as  possible  with  the  amounts  at  our  disposal; 
and  ten  good  workmen  at^  say  5  Xs  a  month  (fair 
living  wages)  would  certainly  do  more  good  than 
five  at  10  Xs  a  month,  or  seven  at  7  Xs  apiece. 


THE   PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  219 

Willing  Self-Denial. 

But,  says  some  one,  "You  cannot  get  good  men 
by  simply  paying  average  living  wages,  less  than  a 
smart  man  could  get  elsewhere;"  to  which  Dr. 
Wheeler  would  have  replied,  Brother  you  are  sadly 
mistaken;  for  all  over  the  world  we  find  that  most 
of  God's  best  workers  are  doing  the  very  thing  which 
you  declare  to  be  impossible,  and  are  proud  to  work 
on  small  profits  for  the  sake  of  doing  more  good 
than  they  could  in  other  more  financially  profitable 
lines  of  work;  and  you  ctrtainly  are  not  getting  a 
proper  hold  on  men's  hearts  and  consciences,  if  you 
have  not  succeeded  in  finding  and  employing  such 
men  as  these.  And  furthermore,  you  should  remem- 
ber that  many  of  your  best  workers  are  not  "smart 
men"  at  all,  and  could  not  make  more  than  living 
wages  anywhere.  And  while  too  great  poverty  is  a 
burden  under  which  only  men  of  rare  genius  and  con- 
secration can  survive  and  prosper;  a  moderate  degree 
of  poverty  is  a  load  which  many  a  man  will  gladly 
take  up  for  Christ's  sake,  and  find  a  blessing  in 
doing  it. 

FIXING  SALARIES. 

But  after  all  what  was  the  net  cash  result  of  all 
these  cautions,  when  reduced  to  dollars  and  cents? 
Well,  that's  a  hard  question  to  answer;  for  Mr. 
Wheeler  and  his  colleagues  always  answered  it  in 
piastres,  and  answered  it  differently  for  different 
outstations,  and  different  workers,  after  a  minute 
study  of  each  case,  in  and  out  of  "station  meeting," 
But  I  think  I   can  give  an    approximately    correct 


220  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

generalization  from  the  many  cases  which  I  have 
had  a  chance  to  watch.  It  was  that  the  minister,  if 
lucky  enough  to  have  a  fairly  economical  wife, 
should  be  able  to  live  a  trifle  better  than  the  average 
middle  class  of  the  community  which  he  represents; 
for  only  thus  can  he  properly  represent  it,  either  as 
pastor  or  as  missionary  to  some  other  land. 

And  though  they  were  careful  not  to  dispute  the 
right  of  any  church  to  pay  a  beloved  pastor  more,  if 
it  thought  best,  they  themselves  were  careful  not  to 
pay  high  salaries  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  Board. 
And  I  think  that  we  shall  find,  that  whenever  our 
colleges,  churches  or  missionary  societies  pay  some 
of  their  employees  exceptionally  high  salaries  for 
the  sake  of  getting  men  of  "marked  ability,"  they 
are  very  apt  to  get  men  who  are  sadly  unfit  for  all 
the  deeper  and  more  spiritual  parts  of  their  work;  or 
at  least  crippled  in  this  work  by  the  excessive  dig- 
nity and  fear  of  giving  offence  which  a  too  big  salary 
engenders  even  in  very  true-hearted  men,  for  even 
the  best  of  workmen  are  apt  to  deteriorate  in  power 
to  purify  and  help  men,  when  their  salaries  pass 
beyond  a  comfortable  living  point. 

MISSIONARIES'  SALARIES. 

And  now  just  a  word  about  missionary  salaries  in 
particular,  in  answer  to  some  questions  which  are 
often  asked  nowadays. 

First;  why  do  not  missionaries  live  more  nearly 
as  the  people  do  among  whom  they  work?  Be- 
cause most  of  them  very  properly  feel  that  the  aver- 
age American  way  of  living  is  better   for  them  and 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  221 

for  their  children;  and  have  a  perfect  right  to  feel 
so  and  insist  on  living  as  an  average  American  lives. 
And  any  man  who  claims  that  they  should  cripple 
their  own  thought  life  and  their  children's  home 
life,  in  hopes  of  helping  some  one  else's  home,  by 
so  doing,  has  sadly  mistaken  the  true  nature  of 
duty;  for  self-sacrifice  (or  a  willingness  to  suffer  for 
others)  and  self-injury  are  two  very  different  things; 
and  duty  never  calls  for  the  latter.  Nor  would  such 
self  injury  really  increase  the  missionary's  power  to 
help  the  people  among  whom  he  works;  for  the 
missionary's  nervous  and  spiritual  vitality  would  be 
lessened  by  it  far  more  than  his  ease  of  access  to  the 
people  would  be  increased. 

"But  how  can  missionaries  consistently  receive 
higher  salaries  than  they  pay  their  native  helpers?" 
Our  reply  is  that  they  need  more  to  keep  up  their 
health  of  mind  and  spirit  (and  to  some  extent  of 
body  too;)  for  they  represent  a  more  high  strung 
race;  and  all  the  mighty  forces  of  heredity,  plus 
those  of  education,  from  infancy  up,  call  for  more 
varied,  and  far  reaching  and  costly  helps. 

And  so  the  test  given  on  page  220  entitles  them 
to  a  higher  salary,  provided  their  help  is  really  needed, 
that  is  to  say  when  the  work  which  they  are  doing 
cannot  be  done  in  part  or  wholly  by  less  costly 
native  workers.  Only  in  applying  this  test  it 
should  never  be  forgotten  that  the  missionary,  though 
living  in  Asia  or  Africa,  is  still  a  citizen  and  repre- 
sentative of  America;  (see  page  220)  and  to  do  his 
best  must  live  as  wide  awake  Americans  of  the  mid- 
dle class  live;  or  he  will  soon  cease  to  be  a  really 


222  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

representative  American,  and  in  so  doing  will  also 
lose  his  fitness  to  be  a  missionary.  For  it  is  the 
genius  of  American  life  ringing  through  all  his 
nerves  and  brain  that  fits  him  for  being  a  mission- 
ary and  doing  a  work  which  even  the  best  of  his 
native  helpers  could  not  do  at  present;  not  because 
they  are  inferior  men,  but  because  they  are  such 
different  men,  and  children  of  a  very  different  civ- 
ilization. 

And  yet,  in  accordance  with  the  law  of  economy 
given  above,  on  page  218,  all  this  implies  three 
things;  first  that  the  missionary  should  never  do 
himself  what  some  native  of  the  country  can  do  as 
well;  secondly,  that  he  should  not  spend  any  of  his 
time  nnd  strength  on  matters  of  merely  secondary 
importance;  and,  thirdly,  that  missionaries  who 
lack  the  real  American  genius  for  leadership  (except 
in  a  latent  form)  should  either  come  home,  or  else 
make  haste  to  develop  that  gift,  if  it  is  in  them. 
For  mere  undeveloped  and  unused  gifts  do  not  enti- 
tle an  American  to  any  larger  salary  than  natives 
get  for  the  same  kind  of  work. 

But  this  raises  still  another  question,  which  is  often 
asked  in  real  perplexity,  though,  of  course,  oftener 
asked  with  a  dishonest  sneer,  "Is  there  then  any 
real  self-sacrifice  in  foreign  missionary  work?"  To 
such  an  inquirer  we  would  reply,  just  go  and  try  it 
for  four  or  five  years,  till  the  novelty  is  all  gone, 
and  unless  your  heart  is  pretty  full  of  love,  you  will 
get  very  sick  of  it  and  want  to  stop.  For  bread  and 
butter  and  sauce,  and  pictures  and  books  and  car- 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  223 

pets  do  not  take  the  place  of  restful  and  congenial 
surroundings;  and  however  much  a  missionary  may- 
love  and  respect  and  admire  the  people  among 
whom  he  or  she  labors,  you  will  nearly  always  find 
in  the  missionary's  life  an  undertone  of  loneliness, 
which  points  very  strongly  to  self-sacrifice  and  pain; 
though  it  is  for  the  most  part  a  loving,  cheerful  and 
happy  self-sacrifice. 

And  we  should  also  remember  that  there  is  no 
virtue  in  self-sacrifice  alone,  but  rather  well-mean- 
ing folly ;  except  whefi  some  good  comes  of  it.  Hence 
a  wise  missionary  will  take  care  of  himself,  as  care- 
fully as  he  does  of  his  horse,  and  of  his  other  tools. 
For  only  thus  can  he  do  as  good  work  as  he  should. 

NATIVES  EDUCATED  ABROAD. 

But  how  about  natives  who  have  been  abroad  for 
an  education?  Should  these  receive  higher  salaries 
than  those  who  have  not  been  abroad?  Yes,  gener- 
ally; provided  going  abroad  has  not  spoiled  them, 
as  it  so  often  does.  But  even  here  the  same  tests 
apply  as  those  given  above  (page  220);  for  the  for- 
eign education,  if  really  helpful  at  all,  simply  fits 
them  for  leadership  in  some  larger  and  wealthier 
community,  where  they  will  naturally  need  a  larger 
salary.  But  foreign  travel  and  study  seems  almost 
never  to  waken  in  them  that  large  organic  or  organ- 
izing power  which  entitles  them  to  employment  as 
regular  missionaries;  showing  how  wonderfully 
strong  are  those  gifts  and  limitations  of  heredity 
and  birth  of  which  we  ordinarily  think  so  little. 

And    even    in   Japan  we  cannot    but  feel  that    it 


224  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

would  have  been  better  for  the  work  had  the  hon- 
ored Neesima  been  made  counsellor  in  chief  rather 
than  one  of  the  commanders  in  chief.  But  however 
this  may  be,  the  general  fact  is  a  most  undeniable 
one;  though  it  does  seem  strange,  when  we  remem- 
ber what  noble  and  true  men  many  of  these  native 
leaders  are,  and  how  gifted  they  are  in  most  lines. 

RELYING  ON  UNPAID  WORKERS. 

But  from  the  paying  of  too  high  salaries  the  mis- 
sionary world,  or  rather  some  parts  of  it,  are  now 
swinging  to  the  opposite  extreme  of  not  paying  any 
salaries  at  all!  and  we  are  told  that  Christ  and  Paul 
and  Barnabas  had  no  salaries,  and  were  strictly  and 
literally  self-supporting;  therefore  we  and  our  native 
helpers  should  be  the  same.  —  That  certainly  sounds 
like  good  reasoning;  but  fortunately  most  mission- 
ary societies  are  shrewd  enough  to  see  that  there  is 
a  fallacy  in  it  somewhere,  in  so  far  as  it  applies  to 
the  missionary  himself,  though  few  as  yet  have  ven- 
tured to  point  out  the  fallacy  that  also  lurks  in  the 
statement  that  our  native  brethren  should  be  strictly 
self-supporting  in  the  sense  of  not  having  any  sal- 
ary.    Let  us  then  look  into  the  matter  more  closely. 

First,  as  to  apostolic  practice?  It  is  undoubtedly 
true  that  Christ  himself  had  no  salary  paid  by  any 
board  or  society;  but  nevertheless  he  evidently  oft- 
en received  contributions  from  others,  as  we  see 
from  Luke  8:1-3;  and  had  a  treasurer,  Judas,  (John 
12:6,)  who  was  not  supposed  to  spend  the  money 
without  his  orders  (John  13:27-29).  Then  surely 
he  was  not  self-supporting,  in  any  narrow  and  liter- 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  225 

alistic  use  of  that  word;  though  he  certainly  gave 
to  the  world  far  more  than  it  ever  gave  to  him,  and 
was  in  a  higher,  truer  sense  self-supporting,  if  ever 
any  one  was. 

Then  when  we  come  to  the  seventy  and  the 
twelve  we  find  that  when  Christ  first  sent  them  out 
for  trips,  in  their  own  native  land,  (Matt.  10:5  and 
Luke  10:1)  he  told  them  to  "Provide  neither  gold 
nor  silver  nor  brass  in  their  purses"  (Matt.  10:9  and 
Luke  10:4)  but  rely  on  the  hospitality  of  the  towns 
they  visited,  "For  the  workman  is  worthy  of  his 
meat"  (Matt.  10:10).  Surely  this  was  not  self-sup- 
port, in  any  narrow  sense  of  that  word. 

But,  later  on,  when  the  time  had  come  for  them  to 
go  out  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel,  he 
said:  "But  now  let  him  that  hath  a  purse  take  it 
and  likewise  his  scrip"  or  wallet  (Luke  22:36). 
Surely  this  points  to  the  need  of  rhore  foresight 
when  entering  a  foreign  land  than  some  have  exer- 
cised; and  as  for  the  vague  assurance  often  given 
that  "we  will  probably  be  able  to  send  you  some 
help,"  this  puts  matters  in  a  different  light,  but  still 
leaves  them  in  needless  and  wearing  uncertainty; 
thus  adding  one  more  to  the  inevitable  burdens  and 
uncertainties  of  missionary  life. 

But,  turning  again  to  the  history  of  the  early 
church,  we  come  to  Paul;  and  here  the  champions 
of  extreme  ideas  seem  at  first  to  have  their  own 
way;  for  we  are  told  that  he  worked  hard  at  tent- 
making,  day  and  night,  ministering  to  his  own  neces- 
sities, and  to  those  that  were  with  him  (Acts  18:3 
and  20:33-34  and  I  Thess.  2:9).  But  Paul  was  a  man 
(15) 


226  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

of  exceptional  energy,  and  to  take  his  mere  private 
conduct  as  a  general  rule  for  everybody  would  indeed 
be  absurd;  for  a  strain  which  such  men  can  stand 
would  crush,  or  else  sadly  cripple  most  men.  And 
Paul  himself  evidently  realized  this;  for  in  his  epis- 
tles he  argues  Very  Strongly  for  the  right  of  relig- 
ious workers  to  some  sort  of  a  salary,  (I  Cor.  9:7-14 
esp.  V.  14)  and  he  himself  condescended  to  grate- 
fully accept  money  help  "time  and  again;"  from  the 
church  at  Philippi,  while  he  himself  was  laboring 
elsewhere  (Phil.  4:15-19  and  10-14  and  II  Cor.  11:9). 

Surely  such  a  man  would  have  favored  the  forma- 
tion of  missionary  societies  to  further  and  hasten 
the  day  of  the  Lord,  by  enabling  the  worker  to 
devote  his  whole  strength  to  the  work;  and,  I  say  it 
reverently,  perhaps  Paul's  own  beautiful  letters,  so 
full  of  truth  and  power,  would  have  been  less  full 
of  things  "hard  to  understand"  (II  Pet.  3:15-16)  if 
he  had  not  been  obliged  to  spend  quite  so  much  of 
his  precious  time  and  strength  in  making  tents. 

And  we  should  also  remember  that  Paul  labored 
in  countries  whose  civilization  was  about  the  same 
as  that  of  his  native  land;  which  made  self-support 
a  much  easier  matter,  especially  as  the  Greek  lan- 
guage was  more  or  less  common  to  them  all. 

And  now  one  step  more  in  early  church  history. 
How  about  the  local  elders,  which  Paul  was  careful 
to  have  placed  over  each  church?  (Acts  14:23,  Titus 
1:5  etc.)  Did  these  have  salaries?  I  cannot  think 
they  did;  for  the  great  difficulty  of  the  duties  laid 
upon  them  does  not  seem  to  have  been  properly 
recognized,  no  one  as  yet  realizing  that  an  elder,  to 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  227 

be  thoroughly  competent  and  successful,  must  give 
his  whole  time  and  strength  to  the  work.  And  so 
we  freely  admit  that  the  apostolic  churches  proba- 
bly did  often  and  perhaps  always  start  in  with  un- 
paid leaders,  who  made  their  living  in  some  other 
way. 

But  this  plan  evidently  gave  way,  after  a  while,  to 
a  better  one,  more  like  that  of  Christ  himself,  who 
spent  three  long  years  in  training  his  assistants  for 
service.  And  furthermore  the  churches'  having  so 
long  relied  on  half-trained  leaders,  whose  work 
must  ordinarily  have  been  done  more  or  less  in  a 
hurry,  undoubtedly  accounts  in  part  for  some  of  the 
serious  errors  which  so  soon  crept  into  the  early 
church,  and  finally  resulted  in  the  backset  of  which 
the  Middle  Ages  furnish  so  sad  a  history. 

The  plan  of  relying  almost  wholly  on  unpaid  na- 
tive workers,  which  Dr.  Nevius  in  China  and  others 
elsewhere  have  recently  tried  so  extensively,  seems 
then  to  us  to  be  very  ill  adapted  for  use  as  a  perma- 
nent solution  oi  the  question  of  self-support;  unless 
the  people  are  taught  to  pay  a  slowly  increasing 
weekly  salary  to  their  leader,  so  as  to  enable  him  to 
spend  a  steadily  increasing  amount  of  time  each 
year  in  Gospel  work  and  Gospel  study.  For  oth- 
erwise they  themselves  will  ere  long  weary  of  his 
crude  and  more  or  less  hasty  talks,  talks  which  at 
first  did  them  real  good,  but  have  long  since  been 
outgrown;  and  thus  he  will  slowly  but  steadily  lose 
his  hold  on  the  community  at  large.  Oh  how  often 
has  this  happened,  even  with  a  salaried  minister, 
whenever  a   minister   has   lacked    leisure    or    sense 


228  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

enough  to  keep  himself  growing   by   a  patient   and 
earnest  study  of  life  and  its  problems. 

Arid,  furthermore,  the  people  themselves,  getting 
their  good  things  too  easily,  are  sure  to  be  less  grateful 
for  them.  For,  although  free  public  libraries  and 
lectures  are  helpful  to  a  community  which  is  in 
other  ways  being  made  to  carry  its  part  of  the 
load;  a  community  which  gets  all  its  best  things 
free  will  soon  cease  to  appreciate  them;  and,  in  any 
community,  the  things  which  we  help  in  sustaining 
or  spreading  by  contributions  of  work  or  money 
(including  tax-paying)  are  always  the  ones  which 
we  love  most,  and  get  most  out  of.* 

Here,  too,  mention  should  be  made  of  another 
argument  sometimes  urged  in  favor  of  not  paying 
any  salaries  at  all;  —  namely  that  it  lessens  the  dan- 
ger of  the  missionary's  surrounding  himself  with  a  lot 
of  merely  mercenary  attendants.  To  which  we 
need  only  reply  that,  if  you  are  careful  not  to  pay 
too  high  salaries,  always  giving  your  workers  a  little 
less  than  they  could  earn  elsewhere,  rather  than  a 
little  more,  and  also  taking  care  to  give  them  plenty 
to  do,  this  danger  will  almost  wholly  disappear;  for 
small  pay  and  plenty  of  good  hard  work  are  not  a 
very  tempting  bait  to  hypocrites,  or  even  to  Chris- 
tians of  the  more  self-seeking  sort;  and  salaried 
men,  thus  protected  and  helped,  make  by  all  odds  the 

*So  that  we  are  not  at  all  surprised  to  read  the  following  manly  confession 
from  a  station  where  this  plan  has  been  extensively  tried:  "The  problem  of 
remedying  this  evil  (of  irregular  attendance  on  Sunday  services)  is  one  of 
the  gravest  questions  before  the  station."  While  eight  years  later  the  same 
station  reports:  "The  number  of  church  members  who  can  be  depended  on 
for  regular  attendance  is  very  small,  especially  in  the  outstations"  (where 
the  evil  effects  of  this  plan  would  naturally  be  felt  the  soonest.) 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  229 

best  workers  in  the  long  run  for  all  positions  which 
heavily  tax  a  man's  time  and  strength. 

But,  says  someone,  Do  not  Mr.  Wheeler's  teach- 
ings on  self-support  naturally  lead  on  to  these  more 
extreme  views?  No,  they  do  not;  for  what  he 
pled  and  fought  for  so  earnestly  was  Self-Support- 
hig  Churches,  not  self-supporting  ministers  and  mis- 
sionaries. For  ministers  and  missionaries  who  do 
good  honest  work  are,  and  always  have  been,  self- 
supporting,  no  matter  who  paid  their  salary,  just  as 
much  so  as  any  other  man,  in  any  land,  who  ever 
worked  for  a  salary  or  fee.  But  a  chtirch  that 
allows  its  native  religious  leaders  to  work  for  it, 
without  giving  them  any  honest  equivalent  out  of 
its  own  pocket  is  not  at  all  self-supporting;  though 
not  quite  as  badly  off  as  one  that  relies  too  much  on 
foreign  charity.  For  unnecessary  charity  from 
one's  own  neighbors  and  kinsfolk,  though  degrading, 
is  not  as  degrading  as  when  it  comes  from  strangers. 
While  really  necessary  charity  does  not  degrade  at 
all,  if  properly  given,  and  not  too  long  continued. 

Hence  in  simply  getting  started,  the  Harpoot 
missionaries  used  unpaid  help  a  great  deal.  But 
they  were  careful,  just  as  soon  as  possible,  to  get 
matters  onto  a  more  permanent  and  business-like 
basis;  so  that  both  the  people  and  their  leaders 
might  be  in  less  danger  of  backsliding. 

BUT  HOW  ABOUT  MEDICAL  MISSIONS? 

Passing  on  now  to  Medical  Missions,  the  question 
arises.  How  far  is  it  possible  to  make  these  also  self- 
supporting?  and  how  far  is  it  desirable?     On   this 


230  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

point,  we  unfortunatety  have  not  yet  found  any 
statement  of  Dr.  Wheeler's;  but  we  can  easily  see 
what  are  its  natural  bearings  on  the  larger  problem 
of  establishing  self-sustaining  native  churches,  to 
which  Mr.  Wheeler  gave  so  much  thought. 

First  of  all  then  we  can  probably  agree  that  free 
medical  advice,  and  in  some  cases  free  medicine, 
may  be  a  legitimate  entering  wedge  in  the  earliest 
stages  of  missionary  work,  among  an  unenlightened 
people.  Though  even  here  some  medical  mission- 
aries have  expressed  the  opinion  that  at  least  a 
nominal  charge  should  be  made  for  medicines  and 
bottles,  to  prevent  people's  pretending  to  be  sick, 
simply  for  the  sake  of  getting  a  bottle;  and  also  to 
lessen  the  likelihood  of  their  throwing  the  medicine 
away  unused,  and  expecting  the  doctor  to  cure  them 
by  some  sort  of  magic. 

But  after  the  people  once  find  that  the  foreign 
doctor  is  really  trustworthy  and  skilful,  we  cannot 
but  feel  that  some  charge  should  be  made  to  all 
except  the  poorest;  and  that  in  the  course  of  a  very 
few  years  medical  missionary  work  should  become 
wholly  self-suoporting.  For  if  the  people  are  not  7nade 
to  pay  for  that  of  which  they  clearly  see  the  value,  hoiv 
can  we  expect  them  to  pay  at  all  willingly  or  generously 
■for  those  higher  things,  of  zvhich  the  value  is  not  as  evi- 
dent at  first  sight  to  a  careless  or  short-sighted  ob- 
server? 

And,  furthermore,  we  should  remember  that, 
with  such  large  numbers  of  patients  as  the  mission- 
ary has,  the  cost  per  head  would  be  very  slight,  and 
even  this  much  need  not  be  asked   of  all.     For,  in 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  231 

accordance  with  the  beautiful  principle  pointed  out 
in  Gal.  6:2,  the  more  well  to  do  could  and  should 
pay  in  part  for  the  treatment  and  medicines  given 
to  their  poorer  neighbors. 

But,  says  an  objector,  "Then  your  missionary  dis- 
pensary and  hospital  will  cease  to  be  a  missionary 
institution,  and  become  a  mere  money-making  af- 
fair. —  To  which  we  need  only  reply  that  for  a  skilled 
physician  to  give  his  whole  time  to  charity  work, 
barely  paying  expenses,  is  certainly  not  a  very 
money-making  affair;  nor  would  even  Turks,  Hin- 
doos and  Chinamen  think  it  such,  even  if  he  charged 
enough  to  pay  running  expenses  and  provide  a  sim- 
ple living  for  himself.  Nor  would  the  spiritual 
purpose  of  his  work  be  obscured  or  weakened,  when 
they  saw  the  missionary  physician's  daily  life,  and 
heard  the  prayers  and  simple  exhortations  of  the 
doctor  and  his  assistants;  and  also  saw  how  little 
he  asked  as  compared  with  others,  most  of  whom 
are  far  less  skilful  than  the  missionary  himself. 
For  even  Chinamen  and  Hottentots  will  respect  a 
man  more,  if  he  does  not  sell  his  services  too  cheap. 

But  perhaps  the  most  frequent  objection  urged 
against  making  the  people  pay  for  medical  help  is 
that  Christ  healed  men  free  of  cost,  and  why  should 
not  we?  But  as  we  have  already  shown,  Christ's 
command  "Freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give 
(Matt.  10:8)  does  not  at  all  forbid  the  taking  of  pay 
in  some  form;  for  in  the  tenth  and  eleventh  verses 
of  the  very  same  chapter  he  clearly  shows  that  he 
thought  the  good  men  of  the  towns  visited  ought  to 
help  pay  the   costs  of  the  work;  and  doubtless   he 


232  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

himself  was  often  "paid"  in  part  for  his  services  in 
healing  and  teaching  in  this  same  markedly  oriental 
way,  as  he  traveled  from  town  to  town  with  his 
twelve  apostles  and  others  who  were  studying  the- 
ology and  medicine  under  his  care! 

So  that  the  plan  which  we  have  proposed  seems 
to  be  the  very  same  one  which  Christ  himself  rec- 
ommended and  practiced,  namely  that  of  letting 
one  hospitable  Jew  carry  another  Jew's  burden,  one 
Chinaman  another  Chinaman's  burden,  out  of  love 
for  a  common  Master;  and  taking  it  for  granted 
that  in  every  town  visited  there  would  probably  be 
some  "worthy  man"  who  would  be  willing  to  carry 
a  part  of  the  burden  and  that  each  poor  man  who 
is  at  all  worthy  of  special  help,  would  be  sure  to 
have  a  circle  of  friends  who  will  gladly  help  pay 
his  expenses  at  so  inexpensive  a  hospital. 

And  if  any  one  asks,  "Why  substitute  fees  for 
hospitality?  a  sufificient  answer  would  seem  to  be 
that  a  modern  doctor's  expenses  are  greater  than 
those  of  a  miracle  working  apostle,  and  Christ's 
reasoning  would  thus  justify  us  in  asking  the  people 
to  pay  these  greater  expenses  just  as  he  said  they 
ought  to  help  m  paying  the  lesser  ones  of  his  time 
(Matt.  10:  9  to  ii);  though  like  him  we  should  lay 
the  burden  mostly  on  those  best  able  to  bear  it  and 
not  equally  on  every  one. 

MAKING  MEDICAL  WORK  TOO  PROMINENT. 

And  furthermore  that  medical  missionary  work, 
wholly  or  mostly  free,  may  be  pressed  too  far  seems 
also  to  be  clearly  shown  by  the    reports  of  our  mis- 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  233 

sionaries  in  North  China,    who   have   made   medical 
work  exceedingly  prominent  in  their  field. 

For  from  1883  to  1887  they  report  on  an  average 
one  conversion  to  every  118  patients  treated;  but 
from  1888  to  i8q6  only  one  conversion  to  every  174 
patients;  and  for  1897  ^^^  1898,  only  one  conversion 
to  every  267  patients  treated;  and  yet  meanwhile 
the  number  of  patients  had  increased  from  eleven 
thousand  to  seventy  thousand  a  year;  the  average 
from  '83  to  'Sj  being  11713;  the  average  from  'S6  to 
'96,  40709;  and  the  average  for  '97  and  '98,  70780. 
Surely  these  figures  seem  to  show  that  these  sick 
folk  and  the  public  at  large  are  less  grateful  and 
less  thoughtful,  as  a  class,  now,  than  thty  were  fif- 
teen years  ago  when  hospital  comforts  were  harder 
toget.  While  in  the  Foochow  mission,  where  hospital 
and  dispensary  work  has  been  pressed  more  slowly 
and  absorbed  less  precious  missionary  time,  we  find 
the  work  is  actually  growing  faster  than  in  North 
China,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  there  are  less  than 
half  as  many  foreign  missionaries  and  only  a  little 
more  than  a  third  as  much  foreign  money  for  use  in 
the  mission.  F'or  while  North  China  reports  the 
goodly  number  of  1459  conversions  for  the  past  six 
years;  Foochow  goes  ahead  of  her  and  reports  1559, 
and  the  ratio  between  conversions  and  hospital  and 
dispensary  patients  drops  from  i:  176  down  to 
1:65,  even  though  the  number  -of  patients  treated 
was  steadily  but  Slowly  increasing  all  the  time. 
While  Foochow  mission  also  takes  the  lead  in  self- 
support,  in  number  of  native  pastors  and  preachers, 
in  number  of  schools  and  number  of  pupils,  and  al- 


234  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

so  number  attending  church  each  Sunday.  Nor 
can  it  be  claimed  that  Foochovv's  gains  are  simply 
accidental  or  spasmodic;  as  will  be  shown  by  the 
following  table  which  certainly  seems  to  prove  that 
for  at  least  nineteen  years  her  methods  of  work  have 
been  more  fruitful  of  conversions  than  those  fol- 
lowed in  North  China. 

Average  Yearly  Accessions  to  the  Church  by 
Confession  of  Faith  —  Per  Missionary.* 

N.  China.         Foochow. 
From  1880  to  '82,  1.4  2.1 

"       1883  to  '85,  2.6  2.8 

"       1886  to '88,  2.1  2.4 

"       1889  to  '91,  2.3  3.3 

"       1892  to  '94,  3.8  4-5 

"       1895  to  '97,  37  12.3 

And  for  1898,  4.6  12.8 

Surely  then  North  China  ought  to  make  her  hos- 
pitals and  dispensaries  a  little  less  free;  that  by  thus 
increasing  the  average  manliness  and  self-respect  of 
her  patients,  she  may  bring  them  and  their  friends 
nearer  to  the  kingdom  of  God;  and  we  are  glad  to 
see  in  the  reports  for  1897  ^"'^  1^9^  that  in  some  of 
her  stations  a  beginning  at  least  has  been  made  in 
this  direction,  and  that  a  smallfee  charged  by  Dr. 
Ingram  of  the  Tungcho  hospital  has  already  dimin- 
ished slightly  the  number  of  patients  at  that  station, 
but  "has  on  the  whole  increased  the  benefits"  of 
treatment.      While   the   report  from    Pauting-fu  in- 

*Including  all  American  workers,  both  male  and  female,  married  and  un- 
married; for  all  alike  ijre  really  missionaries,  and  about  equally  costly  to 
the  American  churches. 


THE   PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  235 

forms  us  that  "the  charc^ing  of  a  small  fee  in  certain 
cases  has  worked  well,  eliminating  certain  undesirable 
cases  and  making  the  patients  value  their  treatment 
more  highly."  All  of  which  is  certainly  cheering 
and  significant;  though  we  venture  to  prophesy  that 
a  still  further  gradual  increase  in  the  charges  will 
still  further  increase  the  good  results;  and  bring 
still  others  to  light  in  the  work  at  large  and  the 
mission's  way  of  doing  it. 

SHALL  BOOKS  AND  TRACTS  BE  GIVEN  FREE? 

To  this  question  the  almost  universal  answer  fifty 
years  ago  seems  to  have  been,  why  of  course  you 
will  give  them  free,  so  as  to  get  more  people  to  read 
them.  But  experience  gradually  convinced  men 
that  this  reasoning  was  faulty;  and  that  books  given 
gratis  generally  remained  almost  wholly  unread,  so 
that  it  is  now  pretty  generally  felt  that  this  way  of 
doing  missionary  work  is  altogether  too  costly  and 
ineffectual  for  general  use. 

Hence  the  free  distribution  of  Bibles,  Testaments 
and  other  books  has  largely  given  place  to  the  wiser 
practice  of  selling  them  at  cost,  or  even  below  cost 
in  many  cases;  but  nevertheless  sellmg,  and  not  giv- 
ing them  away.  And  what  is  the  result?  A  de- 
crease in  the  circulation  of  books?  No,  a  large  in- 
crease;  iox  missionaries  who  with  difficulty  succeeded 
in  distributing  hundreds  of  books  free  years  ago 
(because  they  could  not  get  money  enough  to  buy 
them)  are  now  able  to  sell  thousands*  with   indubi- 

*The  total  book  sales  from  the  Harpoot  book,  room  for  the  first  ten  years 
were  "35,091  volumes,  besides  tracts."    Later  statistics  I  have  not  yet  been 

(over) 


236  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

table  evidence  that  the  books  are  far  more  widely 
and  eagerly  read  than  formerly.  For  those  who 
have  paid  for  them  naturally  try  hard  to  get  their 
money's  worth  out  of  the  books  they  buy,  instead 
of  simply  glancing  over  them  in  a  hurried,  careless 
way. 

Thus  was  it  that  my  father's  "book  room,"  with  its 
great  piles  of  books,  came  to  be  a  mighty  help  in 
making  men  lend  their  dollars  and  cents  to  the 
Lord,  and  not  simply  their  ears;  and  my  memory 
goes  back  with  ever  increasing  pleasure  to  the 
thousands  of  Bibles,  Testaments,  Primers,  Song 
Books,  etc.,  that  used  to  go  out  from  those  conse- 
crated walls,  where  religion  and  business,  prayer 
and  song,  Latin  lessons  for  me  and  ABC  lessons 
for  others,  and  Bible  lessons  for  us  all,  were  min- 
gled together  in  orderly  irregularity,  as  opportunity 

able  to  get.  — Though  from  Shanse,  China,  Rev.  M.  L.  Stimson  (now  of 
Micronesia)  sends  the  following  interesting  report  for  1886:  Days  spent  in 
touring  of  all  sorts,  219;  days  spent  in  purely  evangelistic  touring,  140; 
average  daily  book  sales  wlien  touring.  27,  not  including  tracts.  Which  makes 
a  total  of  about  4000  books  sold  by  this  one  missionary  in  five  months  of 
touring!  Surely  an  interesting  record  and  one  that  strikingly  illustrates 
how  widespread  the  art  of  reading  must  be  in  China.  While  for  1887  Rev. 
Chas.  R.  Hager  of  Hong  Kong  reports  six  or  eight  months  spent  in  touring 
and  84  Bibles,  100  Testaments,  13,443  Gospels  and  15,000  tracts  and  calendars 
as  sold  by  himself  and  his  assistants. 

While  of  another  large  and  costly  mission  whose  growth  in  Church  member- 
ship and  self-support  has  been  and  still  is  a  great  deal  slower  than  that  of 
other  missions  of  the  group  to  which  it  belongs,  we  are  not  surprised  to  find 
in  an  early  report  this  official  statement,  made  by  one  of  their  own  number: 
"The  sale  of  Bibles  and  tracts  has  not  been  carefully  reported;  *  *  * 
and  the  sales  have  been  small;  one  of  the  reasons  for  not  developing  this 
work  being  a  reluctance  to  employ  men  with  mission  funds  for  a  purpose 
whose  result  is  not  manifestly  large  and  useful."  And  now  more  than  ten 
years  later  they  are  paying  for  their  mistake  in  the  relative  slowness  of 
growth  of  which  we  have  spoken;  though  their  earnestness  and  skill  in  other 
lines  of  work  has  partially  remedied  the  evil  effects  of  not  pressing  book- 
sales  as  they  ought  to  have  done. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  237 

offered;  the  rest  of  the  world  being  shut  out  only 
for  a  little  while  early  each  morning,  when  my 
father  was  alone  with  God. 

And  here  let  me  quote  a  striking  testimony  from 
India,  one  out  of  scores  which  might  be  quoted 
were  it  necessary.  Says  the  Rev.  John  Murdock, 
writing  of  India:*  "Formerly  tracts,  and  some- 
times even  octavo  volumes,  were  given  away  freely. 
But  the  opinion  is  now  almost  universally  held  in 
India,  that,  except  in  a  few  special  cases,  gratuitious 
distribution  should  be  confined  to  leaflets  and  very 
small  tracts." 

But  my  father  claimed  that  even  tracts  should 
not  be  given  away  free,  except  in  rare  cases;  and 
soon  found  greatly  to  his  delight  that  these  also 
grew  more  precious,  as  men  were  forced  to  admit 
their  worth,  by  a  promise  to  return  them!  For 
when  men  found  that  tracts  were  only  "lent,"  not 
given  away;  they  began  to  read  them  more  curiously 
and  promptly,  and  then  were  thankful  for  a  chance 
to  also  buy  the  ones  they  liked  best.  Surely  this 
piece  of  Yankee  red  tape  was  an  odd  one;  and  yet, 
if  you  will  stop  to  think  of  it,  you  will  find  that  even 
you  and  1  generally  read  things  that  are  "lent"  to 
us  sooner  than  we  do  those  that  are  given  to  us  out- 
right. And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  in  the  Harpoot 
field,  tracts  were  sold,  and  widely  sold  too,  and 
more  carefully  read  than  ever  before. 

♦London  Missionary  Conference,  vol.  2,  page  321. 


238  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Giving  Books  to  the  Poor. 

But  how  about  giving  books  to  the  poor?  As  to 
these  Mr.  Wheeler's  rule  was  that,  if  any  individual 
or  group  of  individuals,  would  certify  that  a  man 
was  poor,  and  back  up  their  testimony  by  giving 
one-third  of  the  cost  of  a  book,  the  missionary 
would  himself  give  another  third,  thus  leaving  only 
one-third  for  the  man  himself  to  pay.  Thus  were 
the  undeserving  poor  kept  from  undeserved  and 
useless  favors,  and  from  getting  books  to  use  for 
waste  paper;  though  even  the  one-third  might  be 
paid  in  work,  if  the  poor  man  was  willing  to  so  pay 
it  in  some  of  his  many  idle  hours. 

Perhaps  we  should  also  add  that  he  kept  on  hand 
a  small  supply  of  second-hand  and  damaged  books, 
and  broken  or  subdivided,  frameless  slates,  to  lower 
a  poor  man's  bills  still  further;  though  he  was  care- 
ful not  to  follow  a  certain  missionary's  advice  who 
said,  "Give  when  you  cannot  sell."  For  he  well 
knew  that  every  man  who  had  bought  a  book,  and 
paid  for  it,  would  be  tempted  to  despise  his  own 
book,  and  think  himself  a  fool,  when  he  found  that 
other  men,  by  being  a  little  more  stingy,  could  get 
a  book  for  nothing. 

He  also  succeeded  in  forming  many  local  soci- 
eties for  selling  books;  and  greatly  rejoiced  when 
he  saw  their  agents  coming  for  more.  Colporteurs 
were  also  employed;  and  to  some  extent  he  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  local  merchants  to  buy  and  sell 
books,  on  their  own  account;  though  here  his  suc- 
cess no  way  equalled  that  of  some  workers  in  Cey- 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  239 

Ion;  for  Dr.  Murdock,  quoted  above,  tells  us  that  in 
1888  there  were  in  that  country  about  seventy  travel- 
ing native  book  sellers,  who  bought  books  from  the 
tract  societies  to  sell  again  on  their  own  account.* 
Surely  a  most  interesting  record. 

And  would  it  not  be  worth  while  if  in  our  pub- 
lished statistics  of  work  done  each  year  by  various 
missions  the  following  items  were  also  added  more 
regularly  than  is  now  customary;  total  number  of 
books  sold  and  total  number  given  away;  total  num- 
ber of  tracts  or  leaflets  sold  and  total  number  given 
away;  and  lastly  a  rough  estimate  of  the  total  num- 
ber of  pages  sold  and  total  nnmber  given  gratis. 
For  this  would  enable  us  to  get  a  little  clearer  idea 
of  just  how  much  seed-sowing  was  being  done;  even 
when  as  yet  the  harvest  is  far  distant  and  open  con- 
versions but  few  and  far  between. 

HOW  ABOUT  HELPING  STUDENTS? 

Of  grants  in  aid  to  students,  when  in  the  theolog- 
ical seminary,  we  have  spoken  fully  enough  in  the 
chapter  on  Training  Religious  Leaders  (page  183  ). 
So  that  all  we  need  say  further  is  that  the  cautions 
given  on  page  214  as  to  paying  too  high  salaries 
apply  here  as  truly  as  anywhere. 

But  when  we  come  to  the  question  of  aiding  boys 
in  common  schools,  high  schools  and  colleges,  we 
find  that  the  Harpoot  missionaries  did  but  little  of 
it  and  that  little  mostly  in  the  form  of  lowered 
tuition,  or  some  garment  out  of  the  missionary's 
wife's  benevolence  bag.       And  their  reason  for  do- 

*London  Conference,  vol.  2,  page  322. 


240  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

ing  so  little  was  not  that  the  supporting  of  such 
pupils  would  not  do  good;  but  simply  that  so  much 
more  good  could  be  done  by  investing  the  same  money  in 
other  forms  of  Christian  work.     Surely  a  good  reason. 

But  girls  in  the  female  seminary,  afterwards  the 
Female  Department  of  Euphrates  College,  the  Har- 
poot  missionaries  felt  justified  in  helping  more 
freely,  as  a  help  in  overcoming  oriental  prejudices 
against  the  higher  education  of  girls;  though  even 
here  they  were  pioneers  in  self-support,  having 
early  introduced  the  habit  of  making  a  part  of  the 
pupils  pay  something  for  their  board,  as  well  as  for 
tuition;  till  now  the  larger  part  of  the  girls  in  the 
boarding  department  are  wholly  or  nearly  self-sup- 
porting; some  supporting  themselves  by  teaching, 
from  time  to  time;  others  by  work  in  some  mission- 
ary family,  for  which  the  missionary  pays  in  person; 
while  most  are  very  properly  supported  wholly  or 
mostly  by  their  fathers,  some  of  whom  actually  said 
and  thought  a  few  years  ago  that  "a  woman  has  no 
soul." 

A  few  were  also  allowed  to  sign  notes,  promising 
to  pay  in  future  years  and  most  of  these  have  been 
redeemed;*  while  in  the  matter  of  school  books 
many  are  aided  by  a  Loaning  Library,  founded 
years  ago  by  the  missionary  children  of  the  station. 

•Though  experience  shows  4hat  in  most  cases  these  notes  should  be  paid 
up  from  time  to  time  by  teaching,  before  a  girl  is  allowed  to  go  on  and  grad- 
uate, or  pile  up  a  very  big  debt.  For  then  the  temptation  to  go  and  get 
married  is  apt  to  prove  too  strong  for  some!  and  housekeeping  too  costly  for 
the  husband  to  feel  justified  in  paying  the  debt!—  And.  wherever  possible, 
prepayment  of  at  least  a  part  (in  work  or  money)  is  better  than  mere 
note-taking;  this  remedy  being  a  good  one  only  in  exceptional  cases,  and 
for  small  sums,  to  be  soon  paid. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  241 

For  the  use  of  these  books  one-fifth  of  their  value 
is  paid  by  pupils  too  poor  to  buy  books  for  them- 
selves. 

And  even  in  this  matter  of  female  education,  as 
in  that  of  selling  books,  instead  of  giving  them 
away,  we  have  no  doubt  that  a  more  careful  insist- 
ence, the  world  over,  on  girls'  paying  a  reasonable 
amount  for  their  privileges,  would  only  result  at  the 
end  of  five  years  in  our  having  more  pupils  of  the 
sort  we  need,  and  more  by  actual  count,  for  every 
thousand  dollars  spent,  than  we  have  now. 

A  WORD  ABOUT  ORPHANAGES. 

Here  is  the  most  natural  place  to  say  a  word 
about  orphanages,  and  their  proper  relation  to  mis- 
sionary work  in  general;  for  misconception  at  this 
point  would  be  sure  to  result  in  injury  to  the  cause 
of  Christ,  both  at  home  and  abroad. 

I  think  then  that  we  may  say  without  hesitation 
that  ordinarily  the  founding  and  running  of  orphan- 
ages is  no  part  of  a  missionary's  work;  for  the  sim- 
ple reason  that  he  can  in  other  ways  reach  more 
people;  and  more  of  those  who  are  the  natural,  born 
leaders  of  each  community.  And  few  missionaries 
will  deny  that  money  wisely  spent  in  general  mis- 
sionary work  ordinarily  accomplishes  more  of  per- 
manent good  than  the  same  amount  spent  on  orphan 
asylums. 

But  must  we  then  abandon  our  orphanages  inTSit- 
key  or  India?  or  condemn  the  missionaries  for  hav- 
ing started  them?     Not  at  all;  for  in  God's  permis- 

(16) 


242  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

sivc  providence,  things  were  so  changed  in  Turkey 
by  the  recent  massacres  and  in  India  by  recent 
famines  that  for  awhile  the  simple  giving  of  shelter 
in  some  form  to  homeless,  starving  thousands,  be- 
came one  of  the  most  urgent  and  sacred  privileges 
and  duties  of  all  missionaries  who  could  get  the 
needed  money,  without  neglecting  their  other  work. 
And  the  same  providence  that  sent  so  many  of 
these  helpless  and  homeless  ones  to  our  doors,  also 
made  it  inevitable  that  some  of  them  should  remain 
under  our  care  for  a  good  many  years  to  come. 

But  the  question  is,  How  shall  they  be  supported? 
Shall  we  turn  over  to  this  orphan  work  the  pennies, 
dimes  and  dollars  which  we  have  been  wont  to  give 
for  general  missionary  work?  No,  we  should  not; 
for  such  exceptional  calls  of  duty  seldom  justify  us 
in  abandoning  work  already  begun?  What  then 
shall  we  do?  We  must  do  two  things;  first  of  all 
get  some  of  our  friends  who  believe  in  philanthropy, 
but  do  not  believe  in  missions,  to  join  with  us  in 
this  work  of  caring  for  orphans;  and,  secondly,  we 
should  make  each  year  a  little  extra  offering,  from 
our  own  unmassacred  homes,  for  those  who  have  no 
homes,  and  have  providentially  fallen  to  our  own 
care. — Then,  as  the  years  go  by,  and  our  orphans 
one  by  one  grow  older,  the  orphanages  should  one 
by  one  be  closed,  or  else  transferred  to  the  care  of 
their  own  countrymen;  we,  meanwhile,  turning  into 
more  strictly  missionary  channels  even  more  money 
and  more  love  than  we  used  to  give  before  the  mas- 
sacres to  the  work  at  large;  so  as  to  hasten  on  still 
more  rapidly  God's  kingdom  of  love;  and  indirectly 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  243 

help  more  orphans  than  we  could  possibly  help  by 
any  longer  giving  directly  to  orphan  asylums. 

BUT  HOW  ABOUT  HELPING  THE  POOR  IN 
GENERAL? 

But  how  about  helping  the  poor  in  general?  How 
far  should  the  missionary  do  it,  especially  when 
some  of  his  converts,  or  perhaps  all  of  them,  are 
reduced  at  once  to  the  poor  list  by  the  very  act  of 
joining  him?  This  seemingly  simple  question  is 
really  one  that  has  perplexed  missionaries  a  good 
deal,  and  not  without  cause;  for  it  is  not  quite  as 
simple  as  it  seems.  We  take  pleasure  then  in  put- 
ting on  record  Mr.  Wheeler's  views  on  this  subject; 
not  because  of  their  novelty,  but  because  of  their 
clearness  and  practical  importance. 

First  of  all,  then,  he  claimed  that  the  giving  of 
such  help,  on  any  large  scale,  either  in  the  form  of 
work  or  gratuities,  would  soon  result  in  getting  a 
sprinkling  of  self-seeking,  and  even  hypocritical 
men  into  the  missionary's  small  circle  of  adherents, 
enough  to  seriously  cripple  his  work.  And  that  the 
helping  of  converts  at  all  generally  to  money  or 
work  would  also  cause  outsiders  to  so  seriously  mis- 
understand the  missionary's  work  and  the  motives 
of  his  converts,  as  to  make  many  a  man  honestly 
despise  the  Gospel  unheard,  and  even  refuse  to  look 
into  it  as  soon  as  he  otherwise  would. 

Secondly,  he  claimed  that  charity  is  least  likely 
to  do  any  harm,  and  most  likely  to  do  its  legitimate 
work  of  comforting  and  savmg,  when  giver  and  re- 
ceiver are  on  nearly  the  same  plane  socially  (though 


244  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

not  financially;)  and,  if  possible,  bound  together  by 
ties  of  close  and  mutual  intimacy  and  love. 

Hence  he  claimed,  thirdly,  that  in  all  ordinary 
cases  native  Christians  should  be  taught, — yes,  lov- 
ingly, gently  compelled  —  to  look  to  their  own  peo- 
ple and  neighbors,  protestant  and  non-protestant, 
for  charity,  when  charity  was  really  needed;  frankly 
and  very  emphatically,  but  kindly  saying,  'Brother, 
sister,  for  me  to  undertake  to  help  you  in  this  mat- 
ter would  simply  be  a  curse  to  you  and  to  those  of 
your  neighbors  who  can  and  will  help  you,  when 
once  clearly  convinced  that  you  need  and  deserve 
help,  and  that  that  rich  missionary  over  there  won't 
give  it.  Meanwhile,  in  other  ways,  with  God's  help, 
I  and  my  colleages  will  try  to  prove  clearly  that 
we  love  you,  and  can  give  our  lives  for  you,  and 
many  a  most  costly  treasure  of  thought  and  sympa- 
thy, even  when  we  cannot  wisely  give  you  money;' 
—  and  he  had  the  saisfaction  of  finding  that,  after  a 
period  of  suffering  and  hunger,  all  really  worthy 
and  Christ-following  converts  did  find  work  and 
food  among  the  very  persecutors  and  neighbors 
who  had  at  first  threatened  to  starve  them  out,  and 
really  meant  to  do  so. 

Where  then  does  missionary  charity  come  in? 
Only  at  two  points;  first,  when  local  givers  are  pow- 
erless to  meet  the  crisis,  because  of  its  utterly  over- 
whelming nature,  as  in  times  of  massacre,  famine 
and  plague;*  and,  secondly,  when  the  charity  is  so 

*Even  as  our  Lord  Jesus  seems  to  have  never  used  his  miraculous  bread 
multiplying  powers  except  in  very  rare  emergencies,  (Matt.  15:32  and  Mark 
6:35-36,)  and  even  then  to  have  sternly  rebuked  the  mercenary  thoughts 
which  his  kindness  awakened  in  some  minds  (John  6:26,  27  and  66;  and  inter- 
vening verses). 


THE   PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  245 

richly  deserved,  and  so  slight  in  money  value,  that 
its  value  as  a  love-token  is  sure  to  stand  out  clearly 
enough  to  prevent  misunderstanding. 

And  thus  is  a  missionary  put  in  a  place  where  he 
too  can  gratify  that  tender  and  often  childish,  yet 
not  wholly  improper  longing  to  do  money  favors, 
which  is  so  marked  in  all  unselfish  natures.  Though 
he  is  also  put  under  heavy  bonds,  to  God  and  man, 
not  to  do  it  hastily  and  unwisely,  or  too  often\  lest, 
in  seeking  to  help  his  brother  man,  he  only  injure 
him. 

Nor  is  he  justified,  even  then,  in  using  the  Board's 
money,  which  was  given  him  in  trust  for  other  pur- 
poses; but  must  draw  on  his  own  pocket  book,  and 
on  outside  contributions,  given  specifically  for  that 
object.  Thus,  and  thus  only,  can  he  be  kept  from 
using  money  help  too  freely  among  a  people  nearly 
all  of  whom  are  sadly  poor;  but  who  for  the  most 
part  need  the  Gospel  far  more  than  they  do  a  little 
more  bread  and  butter;  and  who  can  also  get  free 
bread  and  butter,  when  needed,  far  more  safely 
from  sources  nearer  home. 

SHORT  SIGHTED  PHILANTHROPY. 

And  whenever  missionaries  are  carried  away  with 
a  passion  for  charity,  we  have  always  noticed,  both 
in  reading  and  in  personal  experience,  that  from 
that  day  on  they  begin  to  grasp  less  clearly  and  less 
truly  the  larger  problem  of  how  to  uplift  races, 
communities  and  individuals,  so  as  to  make  charity 
less  and  less  necessary  as  the  years  go  by. 


246  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Nor  should  the  missionary's  wage  list  for  carpen- 
ters, washer-women  and  ditch  diggers  be  run  up  to 
any  fancy  scale,  though  he  should  always  pay  good 
living  and  growing  wages;  which  can  best  be  deter- 
mined by  seeing  what  the  local  market  price  for 
labor  is  In  Good  Times. 

But  why  not  pay  more  than  this  ?  Simply  be- 
cause the  man  who  pays  more  than  that  lessens  the 
amount  of  missionary  work  which  he  can  do  with 
ten,  a  hundred  or  a  thousand  dollars,  without  at  all 
lessening  the  social  snarl  which  compels  ditch  diggers 
and  others  to  be  conterit  with  such  very  plain  living. 
Whereas  all  true  missionary  work  tends  strongly 
and  even  rapidly  to  disentangle  this  very  snarl,  and 
bring  to  the  poor  people  better  wages  and  a  better 
knowledge  of  how  to  make  those  wages  go  a  long 
way.  And  well  do  I  remember  how  my  father  used 
to  rejoice,  as  he  saw  how  the  wages  of  common  day- 
laborers  were  slowly  rising  round  about  him,  as 
their  skill  and  general  efficiency  increased  from 
year  to  year;  and  how  almost  proud  he  was  to  think 
that  he,  as  employer,  supervisor,  rebukcr,  praiser 
and  missionary,  had  had  a  hand  in  bringing  about 
this  change,  so  suggestive  of  other  social  changes 
in  which  he  too  had  an  important  part. 

But,  says  some  one,  why  object  to  a  missionary's 
at  least  furnishing  his  converts  with  work?  Are  not 
free  labor  bureaus  a  good  thing?  Yes,  when  they 
offer  help  in  finding  work  to  all  alike,  regardless  of 
religious  beliefs,  provided  a  man  be  faithful  and  com- 
petent; for  then  they  do  not  turn  out  hypocrites, 
as  they  always  do,  when  restricted  only  to  religious 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  247 

converts.  But  such  labor  bureaus  belong  to  the 
department  of  general  philanthropy,  and  not  to  that 
narrower  sphere  of  strict  missionary  work,  through 
which  the  missionary  can  at  present  best  serve  the 
people  among  whom  he  lives  so  long  as  he  has  not 
time  and  strength  for  everything. 

Nor  did  Mr.  Wheeler  object  to  a  missionary's 
ordinarily  selecting  his  personal  servants  and  em- 
ployees mostly  from  the  Christian  community  slowly 
forming  around  him.  This  of  course  is  highly  nat- 
ural and  proper;  for  most  (though  not  all)  of  the 
more  competent,  faithful  and  congenial  workmen 
are  sure  to  be  in  that  community.  —  But  when  it 
comes  to  be  understood  that  everyone  who  becomes 
a  Protestant  is  almost  sure  of  a  job,  which  he  could 
not  get  as  an  outsider,  then  comes  in  that  greedy, 
grasping  spirit,  to  which  Mr.  Wheeler  so  strongly 
and  wisely  objected. 

But  are  there  not  exceptional  cases  in  the  very 
earliest  stages  of  one's  work  when  a  missionary 
must  support  a  convert  "for  the  sake  of  keeping  him 
from  starvation?"  Yes,  perhaps  so;  but  then  only 
off  and  on  for  a  few  days  and  weeks  at  a  time  and 
provided  the  convert  is  honestly,  humbly,  forgiv- 
ingly and  diligently  working  to  break  down  preju- 
dice and  find  something  to  do  elsewhere.  For  if 
the  persecuted  one  is  really  a  Christian,  and  eager 
to  win  and  help  and  forgive  his  neighbors  and  rela- 
tives, some  of  them  are  sure  to  relent  after  a  while 
and  give  him  work,  when  once  they  find  that  the 
missionary  does  not  feel  justified  in  permanently 
shouldering  him. 


248  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Confessing  Christ  in  Simpler  Ways  First. 

And  far  better  is  it  that  our  converts  should  for  a 
while  almost  starve,  rather  than  settle  down  into  a 
state  of  unmanly  dependence  on  the  missionary; 
which  would  dwarf  their  Christian  life,  and  their 
intellect  as  well,  and  almost  put  an  end  to  all  higher 
influence  for  good  which  they  might  have  had  over 
their  own  people. 

Nor  should  we  forget  that  in  most  cases  it  is  far 
better  that  our  converts  should  confess  Christ  in 
their  lives,  and  in  informal  conversation,  for  quite  a 
while  before  making  any  formal,  public  confession, 
or  seeking  baptism.  For  in  this  way  they  will  be 
more  likely  to  attach  proper  importance  to  Chris- 
tian living;  and  more  likely  to  win  their  friends  and 
neighbors  to  Christ;  and  less  likely  to  incur  that 
excessive  bitterness  of  persecution,  which  a  too 
great  hurrying  of  simply  formal  confession  is  sure 
to  arouse. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

SELF-SUPPORT  CONCLUDED;    A  STILL 
LARGER  OUTLOOK. 

BUT  WHY  SHOULD  THE  PEOPLE  GIVE  ? 

This  question  we  have  already  answered  from  a 
good  many  different  points  of  view;  but  for  the 
sake  of  greater  clearness  and  emphasis  we  will  an- 
swer it  once  more.  Why  give?  Because  thus  only 
can  they  ever  enter  at  all  fully  into  the  gladness  of 
the  gospel  which  they  have  received.  For  "it  is 
more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive,"  as  Jesus  him- 
self has  said  (Acts  20;35);  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^  ^^^  ^s  do- 
ing all  he  can  to  help  support  a  good  cause  gets 
ten  fold  more  good  out  of  it  than  one  who  simply 
sits  back  and  lets  others  do  the  work  and  pay  the 
bills.  Then  too  the  chances  are  that  a  church 
which  remains  too  long  on  the  dependent  list  will 
ultimately  die  of  sheer  loss  of  vitality,  the  people 
not  even  caring  to  hear  a  gospel  for  which  they 
have  never  done  a  single  thing,  worth  mentioning. 
While  those  who  give  gladly,  each  according  to  his 
ability,  find  themselves  refreshed  and  strengthened; 
even  when  the  burden  is  heaviest. 

That  this  uplifting  influence  is  often  very  marked, 

the  history    of   the  Harpoot  churches  gives  abun- 
249 


250  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

dant  evidence,  as  also  does  the  history  of  every  other 
church,  where  giving  unto  the  Lord  becomes  a  real 
enthusiasm;  for  renewals  of  life  and  light  always 
come  oftenest  to  the  churches  that  give  most  gener- 
ously.—  Not  most  largely,  mind  you,  but  most  gen- 
erously; for  one  church  may  give  ten  times  as  much 
as  another,  and  still  not  give  half  as  generously; 
and  two  men  may  both  give  tithes,  and  both  give 
them  in  love,  and  still  one  give  far  more  generously 
than  the  other,  because  his  total  income  is  so  small 
that  the  remnant  is  much  smaller  than  his  neigh- 
bor's; or  better  still  because  the  love  which  he  puts 
into  his  gift  is  so  much  greater. 

For  God,  in  making  up  his  accounts,  evidently 
adds  in  the  love,  of  which  the  church  treasurer  too 
often  takes  no  account. 

IN   PARTNERSHIP  WITH  GOD. 

Then  too,  among  the  incidental,  or  rather  the  un- 
noticed benefits  of  loveful  giving,  for  a  good  cause, 
is  honesty;  for  many  men  are  partly  honest  who  are 
far  from  being  strictly  or  wholly  so.  But,  as  a 
plain  man  in  the  Harpoot  field  once  put  it,  "Now 
that  I've  gone  into  partnership  with  God,  I  feel  as 
though  I  must  be  more  honest;  for  I  cannot  give 
him  dirty  money."  Nor  is  it  at  all  strange  that  the 
good  man  felt  as  he  did;  for  the  thought  of  being 
one  of  God's  junior  partners,  a  willing  co-worker 
with  him  in  all  we  do,  is  certainly  a  most  inspiring 
and  restraining  thought,  and  more  and  more  so  as 
the  nearness  becomes  more  complete,  and  the  little 
changes  of  plans  to  which  it  leads  become  more  fre- 
quent, and  less  and  less  annoying. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  251 

How  Much  Should  People  Give? 
And  When  Should  They  Be^in  to  Give? 

But,  passing  on,  we  come  to  two  other  questions 
of  far  reaching  importance;  namely:  How  much 
should  the  people  give?  And  when  should  they 
begi7i  to  give? 

Perhaps  these  questions  will  at  first  seem  too 
vague  to  be  worth  asking;  or  too  general  to  be  ca- 
pable of  any  but  a  very  abstract  and  pointless 
answer.  But  I  hope  to  prove,  by  a  simple  appeal 
to  Mr.  Wheeler's  experience,  that  both  questions 
can  be  answered,  and  answered  satisfactorily;  and 
that  no  missionary  can  do  much  toward  pressing 
self-support  till  he  catches  the  spirit  of  these  two 
answers;  a  mere  theoretical  belief  in  self-support  never 
being  sufficient. 

FORTY  YEARS  AGO;  OR  HARD  TIMES  IN  1861,  AND 
WHAT  CAME  OF  THEM. 

Going  back  then  forty  years  to  the  time  when 
Messrs.  Allen,  Barnum  and  Wheeler  first  began 
work  together  at  Harpoot,  we  come  to  a  time  when 
these  missionaries  believed  in  self-support  ideally, 
and  were  pressing  it  vigorously  at  some  points;  but 
nevertheless  thought  that  most  of  their  outstations 
were  too  poor,  or  else  too  weak  spiritually,  to  do 
anything  toward  self-support  as  yet.  And  so,  fol- 
lowing the  generally  accepted  policy  of  those  times, 
they  were  themselves  paying  all  the  chapel  rent, 
preachers'  salaries,  and  preachers'  house  rents  in 
most  of  their  outstations,  and,    in    some    of  them. 


252  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

even  the  cost  of  lighting  and  heating  —  when  lo, 
hard  times  set  in  for  missionaries;  for  the  war  of 
the  rebellion  was  rapidly  approaching  in  the  home 
land,  and  contributions  were  falling  off  rapidly; 
while  a  still  greater  fall  was  anticipated  later  on.* 

Well,  what  did  the  missionaries  do  ?  First  of 
all  they  began  cutting  down  salaries,  and  closing 
some  of  their  day  schools,  justly  feeling  that  these 
schools  were  of  less  urgent  importance  than  the 
more  strictly  religious  parts  of  the  work  which  they 
had  undertaken.  But  that  was  not  enough;  and  so 
they  began  slowly  and  sadly  cutting  off  what  seemed 
to  them  their  least  promising  outstations  and  help- 
ers, expecting  ere  long  to  have  to  cut  off  others; 
when  lo,  a  most  unexpected  reaction  set  in,  and  the 
good  seed  which  they  themselves  had  planted  sud- 
denly budded,  and  brought  forth  most  unexpected 
fruit. 

*The  average  yearly  receipts  of  the  Board  from  1845  to  '62 
were  as  follows: 

1845  to  1851,  $259,000. 

1852  to  1856,  308,000. 

1857  to  1859,  357.000- 

i860,  430,000. 

1 86 1  and  '62,  340,000. 

($90,000  less  than  in  i860,  and  $17,000  less  even  than  the  average  receipts 
for  1857,  '58  and  '59.) 

And  this  was  the  time,  (1861,)  when  Harpoot  took  so  long  a 
step  forward  toward  grasping  the  full  secret  of  self-support; 
and  was  probably  one  of  the  most  eventful  epochs  in  the 
whole  history  of  their  work.  —  After  1862  contributions  began 
rising  again;  but  Harpoot  had  learned  the  lesson  of  greater 
economy  and  wisdom;  and  never  unlearned  it;  though  perhaps 
not  grasping  it  quite  as  clearly  at  some  times  as  at  others. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  253 

"For  a  Protestant  brother  from  a  village  which 
they  were  expecting  to  leave  unsupplied  called  on 
them  and,  deploring  the  prospect,  said  that,  if  it 
would  be  any  help  to  them,  he  would  be  willing  to 
board  a  student  from  their  theological  class;  if  they 
would  only  send  one.  The  student  he  asked  for 
was  also  found  to  be  willing  to  go,  on  these  terms, 
for  ^1.60  a  month;  and  the  missionaries  felt  that  it 
would  never  do  to  abandon  a  really  hopeful  field, 
for  lack  of  funds;  when  to  occupy  it  would  cost  so 
little.     And  so  the  man  was  sent. 

"Then  in  another  large  village,  which  they  had 
decided  to  give  up,  the  only  Protestant  in  the  place 
came  and  offered  to  board  the  teacher,  and  furnish 
a  room  in  his  own  house  for  the  day  school  and  the 
Sabbath  services. 

"This  set  the  missionaries  to  thinking; — and  made 
them  feel  that  perhaps  Providence  was  showing 
them  a  plan  by  which  they  might  avoid  the  necessity 
for  such  disastrous  retrenchments.  So  they  pro- 
posed the  same  plan  to  all  their  outstations;  and,  in 
nearly  every  case,  secured  a  pledge  for  the  board  of 
the  helper,  or  its  equivalent,  board  also  including 
house  rent  in  most  cases.  Thus,  with  the  reductions 
in  salaries  already  made,  they  succeeded  in  retain- 
ing nearly  all  their  helpers,  both  preachers  and 
teachers." 

These  facts  we  gather  from  a  letter  by  the  Rev. 
H.  N.  Barnum,  D.  D.,  in  the  Missionary  Herald  for 
March,  1862,  with  only  a  very  few  slight  additions 
from  other  sources. 


254  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Giving  More  and  More  Gladly. 

And  from  that  day  the  good  work  went  on,  faster 
and  faster;  and  the  missionaries,  who  had  before 
only  asked  the  poorer  communities  to  pay  for  "fuel 
and  lights,"  and  had  not  even  dared  to  do  this  much  in 
some  cases,  became  bolder  and  more  farsighted;  and 
began  to  preach  and  enforce  more  constantly  the 
duty  of  consecrating  to  God  the  things  that  we  love 
most,  never  counting  that  any  one  had  given  enough 
unto  the  Lord;  until  he  reached  a  point  where  the  very 
thought  of  giving  would  fairly  make  his  face  shine. 

Thus  was  another  problem  solved;  and,  by  attempt- 
ing larger  things  for  God  than  they  or  their  neigh- 
bors had  ever  dreamed  of  attempting  before,  and  at- 
tempting them  in  wise  though  very  simple  ways,  they 
accomplished  more. 

For  he  who  consecrates  his  daily  earnings  to  God, 
will  find  his  whole  life  happier,  even  though  he  has 
to  give  up  some  minor  comforts,  which  he  might 
otherwise  have  had.  —  So  that  even  the  poorest  na- 
tive Christians  were  richly  blessed,  in  giving  of  their 
poverty  for  the  support  of  God's  workers  in  their 
midst. 

BOARDING  ROUND  AND  SWAPPING  LABOR. 

And  the  boarding  round  and  labor  swapping  plans, 
to  which  so  many  of  our  own  fathers  and  grandfa- 
thers owe  their  early  education,  was  found  to  work 
successfully  as  an  entering  wedge  for  self-support  on 
foreign  missionary  soil  as  well;  though  there,  as  here 
always  sure  to  be  outgrown  in  course  of  time,  when 


THE  PROPER  USE:0F  MONEY.  255 

once  a  people  learn  to  give  freely  of  their  substance 
to  the  Lord.  —  But  as  an  entering  wedge,  they  did 
grand  service;  and  will  again  and  again  be  found  help- 
ful, in  any  land  where  money  is  too  scarce  or  too 
blindly  cherished  to  be  given  freely  at  first. 

Of  course  boarding  round  has  its  drawbacks;  but 
from  the  days  of  Christ  and  his  apostles  down  to  the 
time  of  Wesley  and  the  pioneers  of  the  west,  and 
even  in  proud  New  England,  not  many  years  ago, 
hospitality  has  often  opened  the  way,  where  money 
seemed  too  precious  to  be  given,  or  the  Gospelioo  un- 
important to  be  worth  paying  for  outright.*  And 
from  personal  experience  the  writer  also  knows  that 
even  in  modern  America  a  traveling  missionary  may 
often  greatly  lessen  his  expenses,  and  place  his 
books  in  more  homes  than  otherwise  by  a  simple 
exchange  of  bread  and  butter  and  shelter  for  some 
of  the  choicest  of  the  little  books  he  carries  with 
him.  Thus  did  my  father  do  in  the  distant  Orient, 
thus  have  I  often  done  in  this  far  distant  Occident; 
and  many  of  the  most  instructive  and  delightful 
glimpses  of  home  life  I  have  ever  had  have  come  to 
me  in  this  way. 

For  the  man  who  opens  his  home  to  you,  out  of 
regard  for  the  message  you  bring,  will  almost  surely 
open  his  heart  too,  if  he  loves  the  message  you  bring; 
and  frankly  discuss  many  an  important  theme,  even 
if  he  does  not  as  yet  love  your  message  very  much. 

♦Nor  should  we,  in  this  connection,  forget  that  in  the  Orient  general  hos- 
pitality is  a  duty  and  privilege  more  widely  felt,  and  more  often  needed,  than 
in  our  own  more  mature  and  more  silent  western  life;  hence  the  special  fit- 
ness of  this  way  of  working  for  use  in  Oriental  lands. 


256  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Writes  a  missionary  from  another  part  of  Turkey, 
who  had  just  spent  several  months  in  Harpoot: 
"The  village  work  in  the  region  about  Harpoot  is  a 
mystery,  a  marvel  to  me,  *  *  *  *  the  people 
in  their  poverty  do  so  much  to  sustain  the  gospel 
among  themselves;  and  purchase  Bibles  and  other 
books  to  an  extent  which,  before  my  own  eyes,  is 
incredible."* 

But  had  that  missionary  seen  the  intense  enthu- 
siasm with  which  Mr.  Wheeler  would  often  set  out 
in  earlier  years  to  sell  a  five  cent  primer  or  a  twenty 
cent  Testament,  the  book  sales  would  not  have 
seemed  so  strange.  Nor  are  the  money  contribu- 
tions at  all  surprising,  when  we  remember  how  high 
and  soul-inspiring  were  the  ideals  to  which  these 
Harpoot  missionaries  pointed,  when  fairly  compelling 
men  to  give,  as  an  evidence  of  their  love,  and  a' 
means  of  deepening  that  love. 

FIRST  LESSONS  IN  GIVING. 

And  the  picture  is  to  me  a  very  beautiful  one,  when 
I  remember  that,  as  soon  as  a  man  had  been  seen  at 
the  chapel  for  three  successive  Sundays,  my  father 
felt  justified  in  calling  on  him  "to  see  how  much  he 
loved  the  minister."  And  even  Nicodemuses,  who 
never  came  near  to  the  preacher  publicly,  were  often 
asked  to  help  a  little,  as  a  sacred  privilege  and  duty; 
which  often  resulted  in  their  appearing  at  church 
publicly  and  fearlessly  soon  after,  to  hear  the  preach- 
er whom  they  were  helping  to  support,  while  he  in 
turn  was  helping  to  support  them  in  a  still  higher 
sense. 

♦Missionary  Herald.    Vol.  6i,  page  175. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  257 

And  I  doubt  not  that  even  in  heathen  countries 
many  a  man  has  been  led  on  to  a  deeper  interest  in 
Christian  meetings  and  Christian  living  by  being  first 
asked  to  help  support  a  Christian  school-master  or 
hospital  or  opium-eaters'  refuge,  of  which  the  merits 
were  evident  even  to  heathen  eyes.  For  the  surest 
way  to  turn  honest  curiosity  into  something  deeper  and 
more  lasting  is  to  make  haste  to  set  your  hearer  to  work 
doing  something  for  others.  —  Nor  should  we  forget 
that  even  love  of  truth  often  changes  to  discouraged 
indifference  or  at  least  to  dogged  reticence  if  not 
turned  soon  enough  into  some  form  of  active  love 
and  self-denial  for  others. 

Thus  did  Mr.  Wheeler  work  on  and  on;  though 
at  times  almost  discouraged  for  awhile.  For  he  soon 
discovered  that  even  the  poorest  are  made  richer 
and  happier  by  giving  of  their  toil  and  substance  to 
the  Lord,  until  their  souls  are  fairly  thrilled  with  the 
thought  of  giving,  and  of  being  God's  fellow  work- 
ers; and  that  no  man,  however  poor,  is  in  danger  of 
giving  too  much,  till  he  reaches  a  point  where  it  is 
with  genuine  regret  that  he  admits  that  he  ought 
not  to  give  any  more. 

Unwilling  givers  there  doubtless  were,  men  who 
had  to  be  forced  into  giving,  so  as  to  prevent  them 
from  demoralizing  the  churches  which  they  pre- 
tended to  love;  though  Mr.  Wheeler  was  careful  to 
have  most  of  the  money  come  from  willing  givers, 
and  from  really  godly  hearts. 

But  it  is  wonderful  to  see  how  few  unwilling  givers 
there  were;  and  how  many,  even  of  these,  were 
(17) 


258  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

made  to  see  it  in  such  a  light  that  their  giving  be- 
came the  first  step  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven;  for 
most  of  them,  after  the  first  great  struggle,  were 
glad  that  a  man  had  turned  up  who  could  deliver 
them,  in  Jesus'  name,  from  the  hell  of  covetousness. 
And  even  the  few  unwilling  givers  were  a  little 
nearer  heaven,  and  a  little  more  likely  to  get  there 
sometime,  than  they  would  have  been  without  his 
help;  for  he  nearly  always  touched  some  true  motive, 
even  in  the  most  unwilling  giver;  and  scorned  money 
which  did  not  bring  with  it  at  least  a  wee  bit  of  love 
and  conscientiousness. 

Thus  was  it  that  our  missionary  answered  the 
double  question,  How  much  should  the  people  give  ? 
and  when  should  they  begin  to  give  ?  and  his  answer 
was  certainly  a  very  beautiful  one,  and  full  of  far- 
reaching  truth  and  power.  And  any  missionary 
who  answers  it  as  he  did,  and  becomes  enthusiastic 
(i)  in  giving,  and  (2)  in  7naking  others  give,  will  be 
pretty  sure  of  success  in  his  pressing  of  self-sup- 
port. For  this  way  of  looking  at  it  makes  self- 
support  a  very  simple  and  yet  attractive  duty;  and 
even  duty  grows  easier,  when  its  inner  loveliness 
and  meaning  is  clearly  seen. 

And  although  the  people  often  said  and  felt  that 
this  apostle  of  self-support  was  one  of  the  sternest, 
strangest  teachers  they  had  ever  seen,  they  also  felt 
and  said  that  he  was  one  of  the  tenderest  and  kindest, 
and  one  to  whom  they  owed  a  debt  of  almost  un- 
speakable gratitude. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  259 

Giving  One  Tenth. 

Here  also  is  the  place  to  mention  the  movement 
for  giving  tithes,  of  which  so  much  has  been  writ- 
ten. Of  the  blind  preacher  who  rediscovered  its 
helpfulness,  and  of  the  rapid  spread  of  the  move- 
ment, we  need  not  speak  here;  for  our  book  is 
already  larger  than  we  meant  to  have  it.  But  we 
do  wish  to  point  out  the  real  secret  and  power  of 
the  tithing  movement. 

It  is  not  that  John  Concordance  proved  at  all  con- 
clusively that  all  men  ought  to  give  one  tenth  of 
their  earnings  to  the  Lord;  but  that  he  did  awaken 
them  to  the  startling,  awe-inspiring  thought  that 
God  not  only  gives  all  we  have;  but  claims  back  a 
part  for  himself.  —  What  part?  Let  each  decide 
for  himself.  But  let  him  decide  honestly;  prefer- 
ring to  give  too  much,  rather  than  too  little.  For  if 
he  happens  for  a  while  to  give  too  much,  God's  bank 
invests  it  safely  for  him.  But  if  he  gives  too  little, 
a  veritable  blight  is  sure  to  fall  on  all  that  is  sweetest 
and  most  satisfying  in  his  own  life. 

Thus  was  the  thought  of  partnership  with  God,  on 
which  the  missionaries  had  insisted,  made  all  the 
clearer,  and  more  vivid;  for  when  the  question  was 
once  fairly  put,  many  were  willing  to  frankly  admit 
that  a  tenth  to  the  Lord  was  surely  none  too  much; 
though  the  deeper  thought  of  thorough  self-conse- 
cration, of  which  the  seeds  had  been  so  carefully 
planted  some  years  before,  was  what  chiefly  gave  the 
new  movement  its  power.  And  yet  it  is  probably 
true  that  John  Concordance  made  the  idea  of  duty 


26o  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

more  prominent  in  this  matter  of  giving,  while  in  the 
missionaries'  presentation  X.\\t  privilege  of  giving  had 
been  made  more  prominent;  and  doubtless,  to  get 
the  best  results,  we  must  combine  both  thoughts;  as 
thousands  were  glad  to  do,  when  to  the  missionary's 
more  searching  plea  the  more  vivid  one  of  John  Con- 
cordance was  added  later  on. 

HOW  TO  FACE  RETRENCHMENT. 

But  the  lesson  which  Harpoot  station  learned 
from  the  severe  retrenchments  of  1861  and  '62  sug- 
gests the  problem  of  retrenchments  in  general,  and 
whether  our  missionaries  might  not  more  generally 
turn  them  into  sources  of  blessing.  That,  like 
Harpoot,  many  another  station  can  look  back  to 
some  day  of  hard  times  and  retrenchment  as  one  of 
the  most  eventful  and  blessed  in  its  whole  past  ex- 
perience, we  have  no  doubt.  In  fact  we  have  come 
across  explicit  testimony  to  that  effect  often  enough 
to  show  that  Harpoot's  experience  is  not  excep- 
tional; though  probably  more  marked  than  most. 
And  yet  it  certainly  is  not  common;  and  the  ques- 
tion arises,  Why  not  ? 

And  why  is  it  that  so  many  missionaries  are  badly 
crippled  by  times  of  retrenchment  ?  We  believe 
that  it  is  because  they  fail  to  grasp  at  all  fully  that 
wonderful  truth  that  "All  Things  work  together 
for  Good  to  them  that  love  God."  And  oh  how 
great  it  is.  And  how  helpless  the  devil  is,  or  rather 
might  be,  before  such  a  truth  as  this;  for  there  is  in 
it  only  one  condition,  and  that  is  love  for  God. — 
But  do  not  all  missionaries  love  God?    Yes;  but  they 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  261 

do  not  love  him  enough;  for  evidently  the  more  we 
love  him,  the  greater  will  be  the  blessing  which  it  will 
be  possible  for  him  to  give  tcs. 

And  lucky  it  is  for  us  that  our  money  does  some- 
times run  short;  for  some  lessons  can  be  first  learned 
better  in  hard  times  than  in  fair;  and  much  that  we 
attribute  to  the  meanness  of  man  and  the  machina- 
tions of  the  devil  is  in  reality  due  largely,  though 
not  wholly,  to  the  overruling  hand  of  God,  whose 
love  for  man  is  too  tender  and  too  far-seeing  to 
make  possible  that  morbid  dread  of  sometimes  giv- 
ing needed  pain  by  which  we  are  so  often  crippled. 

And  the  harder  the  times  are  financially  the  more 
careful  we  should  be  to  hunt  up  and  study  the 
bright  side  of  everything,  and  to  press  forward 
along  the  lines  of  self-support  and  Christian  manli- 
ness among  our  churches  and  congregations;  for  the 
hard  times  are  the  very  thing  that  will  help  us  in  doing 
this\^  and  with  God's  help  even  hard  times  can  be 
made  just  as  helpful  as  what  we  call  good  times. 
And  oh  how  those  words  of  Dr.  Barnum's  ring  in 
our  ears;  —  "So  we  proposed  a  long  step  forward  in 
self-support  to  all  our  outstations;  and  in  nearly 
every  case  secured  a  pledge  for  the  board  of  the 
helper,  or  its  equivalent."  (And  this  too  from  con- 
gregations who  till  then  had  done  almost  nothing 
towards  self-support.) 

And  yet  the  men  who  did  this  were  not  then  Doc- 
tors of  Divinity,  or  better  still  Veterans  in  Mission- 

*Writes  a  missionary  from  China,  "I  look  upon  this  stringency  and  re- 
trenchment, [when  money  help  from  America  was  running  short,]  as  one  of 
the  greatest  blessings  to  the  native  church  that  is  possible." 


262  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

ary  Service,  but  simply  young  and  inexperienced 
missionaries;  and  strange  to  say  the  plan  which  they 
proposed,  and  which  called  forth  such  general  ap- 
proval, and  such  lasting  results,  was  proposed  to  them 
by  two  plain  villagers,  whose  names  are  not  even  re- 
corded on  the  pages  of  history,  though  they  too  must 
have  been  rare  men,  known  to  God,  if  not  to  us. 

For  the  angels  of  God  never  bring  such  hints  to 
common  men;  but  only  to  those  who  in  silent  love- 
liness have  long  walked  with  him,  and  learned  of 
him,  in  other  matters  less  difificult  and  less  evidently 
great. 

BEING  GRATEFUL  FOR  HARD  TIMES. 

Had  we  more  leisure,  we  could  hunt  up  and  repro- 
duce here  many  purely  historic  illustrations,  from 
many  different  lands,  showing  how  hard  times  and 
retrenchment  have  often  furthered  the  Lord's  cause, 
when  missionaries  have  seen  in  them  a  call  for  more 
pluck  and  financial  self-reliance,  instead  of  a  mere 
excuse  for  wailing.  For  while  blues  are  certainly 
natural;  we  should  remember  that  they  are  a  natural 
disease,  and  not  a  sign  of  health;  and  are  best  cured 
by  silence,  rest  and  prayer,  followed  by  an  energetic 
deepening  of  our  plans,  rather  than  by  mournful  let- 
ter-writing. 

Then  why  not  oftener  fill  our  letters  with  words 
like  these: 

In  spite  of  reduced  appropriations,  we  have  succeeded  in 
keeping  open  all  but  ten  of  our  forty-five  preaching  places. 
For  under  the  pressure  of  hard  times  our  people  are  giving 
more  liberally  than  formerly;  and  even  these  ten  will  probably 
be  helped  by  a  little  fasting;  for  they  do  not  yet  feel  the  need 


THE   PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  263 

of  divine  help  as  deeply  as  they  should.  —  But  the  question  is, 
When  are  we  going  to  reach  the  new  fields  all  around  us? 
This  question  really  troubles  us  sometimes;  but  we  suppose 
the  answer  is,  Just  as  soon  as  God  sees  that  we  are  ready  for 
the  new  work;  but  no  sooner. 

Or  again:  Hurrah  for  retrenchment!  It  has  already  re- 
sulted in  two  more  of  our  churches  entering  the  self-supporting 
list,  making  eight  churches  in  all,  during  the  last  four  years. 

Or  the  following:  One  year  ago,  after  hearing  of  the  Board's 
straits,  we  called  together  a  meeting  of  all  our  churches  and 
pastors,  and  laid  the  matter  before  them,  dwelling  most  espe- 
cially on  the  crying  need  of  the  darker  corners  of  the  earth, 
and  on  our  privilege  of  helping  them  by  gladly  giving  up  a 
part  of  the  help  we  have  been  wont  to  ask.  The  result  was 
the  foundation  of  a  local  home  missionary  society,  to  help  our 
weaker  churches  with  money  and  advice,  properly  mixed, 
wherever  they  are  willing  to  do  all  they  can,  and  simply  need 
a  little  more  to  finish  off  with.  And  we  are  glad  to  say  that 
the  results  have  been  enlarged  contributions,  and  greater 
earnestness  and  regularity  in  giving  all  over  our  field.  So 
much  for  hard  times. 

While  Miss  Pauline  Christian  Thankwell  might 
write: 

Two  years  ago  we  informed  our  girls  that  all  PupiU  who 
Paid  less  than  half  their  board  Jtiust  spend  at  least  eight  months 
every  year  at  home,  and  spend  a  part  of  their  time  doing  some 
sort  of  simple  home  missionary  work  among  their  neighbors 
and  playmates,  thus  learning  to  pass  on  to  others  what  they 
themselves  were  getting  at  school;  while  those  that  paid  more 
than  half,  but  not  all,  must  also  spend  some  time  at  home 
doing  the  same  kind  of  work;  and  moreover  that  even  full 
paying  pupils  would  not  be  admitted  for  more  than  half  a  year 
at  a  time,  unless  we  were  satisfied  that  they  too  were  entering 
heartily  into  such  work  as  this  during  vacations.  And  oh, 
what  a  blessing  it  has  been  to  our  school;  for  without  asking  a 
cent  more  from  the  Woman's  Board  we  have  been  able  to  have 
23 per  cent  iuore  scholars,  all  the  year  round;  while  our  total 


264  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

enrollment  has  increased  one  half ;  even  those  who  stay  only 
four  months  seeming  to  grow  in  grace  and  loveliness  and 
intelligence  just  as  fast  as  they  did  before,  when  they  spent 
nine  months  every  year  at  school !  Then  too  the  parents, 
both  full  paying  ones  and  assisted  ones,  are  in  most  cases 
more  grateful  than  they  were  formerly. 

Such  at  least  was  the  spirit  in  which  Mr.  Wheeler 
and  his  colleagues  faced  the  problem  of  hard  times 
and  retrenchment;  though  time,  distance  and  fire 
have  made  it  impossible  for  us  to  quote  his  exact 
words,  as  we  should  like  to  have  done. 

But  all  who  have  seen  him  work  can  testify  that 
hard  times  seemed  to  only  make  him  stronger,  not 
weaker;  for  he  generally  succeeded  in  prayerfully 
waiting  long  enough,  before  acting,  to  clearly  see 
God's  hand  in  it  all;  and  so  he  could  not  lose  heart. 

CUTTING  DOWN  SALARIES. 

But  coming  back  to  details  once  more,  there  is 
one  other  point  just  here  on  which  Mr.  Wheeler's 
views  are  well  worth  mentioning;  he  believed  most 
heartily  in  a  general  cut  down  of  salaries  when  the 
money  in  the  Lord's  treasury  runs  low;  and  would 
not  have  excepted  a  single  salary  from  Boston  to 
the  farthest  corner  of  the  world;  but  would  rather 
have  had  them  all  alike  cut  down  temporarily;  for 
if  the  strain  be  not  too  long  continued,  all  alike  will 
find  a  blessing  in  being  obliged  to  help  in  bearing 
it;  and  if  any  one,  either  high  or  low,  refuses  to  help 
in  tiding  over  such  a  crisis,  surely  he  is  out  of  place 
in  the  employ  of  a  rnissionary  board;  for  even  one 
self-seeking  man,  too  near,  will  sadly  lessen  the  use- 
fulness of  all  who  are  obliged  to  work  with  him. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  265 

How  to  Deal  with  Unsuccessful  Stations. 

But  when  we  get  to  a  point  where  the  inevitable 
.cut  down  means  inevitable  loss  to  the  work,  then  he 
felt  that  we  should  discriminate  more  than  we  do 
between  successful  and  unsuccessful  stations  and 
outstations  and  not  simply  cut  down  about  the  same 
all  over  a  mission.  —  Now  we  are  well  aware  that 
missionary  societies  do  always  make  a  difference, 
and  often  a  marked  one,  at  this  point.  But  never- 
theless Mr.  Wheeler  felt  that  in  many  instances  the 
unsuccessful  station  or  outstation  was  dealt  with  far 
too  gently.  For  whether  the  ill  success  of  a  station 
or  outstation  be  due,  (i)  to  the  locality  itself,  or  (2) 
to  the  blunders  of  previous  missionaries,  or  (3)  to 
^^._the  blunders  of  those  now  on  the  ground,  it  still  re- 
mains true  that  very  little  money  or  labor  can  wisely 
be  spent  there  till  some  pioneer  or  reformer,  with 
exceptional  energy  and  skill,  but  very  little  money, 
succeeds  in  getting  things  straightened  out,  so  as  to 
warrant  larger  expenditures  later  on. 

For  m  missions,  as  in  farming,  the  world  is  too 
large,  and  too  full  of  good  land  to  justify  us  in  cul- 
tivating poor  fields;  or  ones  which  experience  shows 
that  we  do  not  understand  how  to  manage. 

ANNUAL  MEETING  MAJORITIES. 

But  such  points  as  this  cannot  of  course  be  set- 
tled, even  tentatively,  in  annual  meetings  where  the 
missionaries  themselves  are  the  judges;  for  even 
missionaries  are  human,  and  every  missionary  is  apt 
to  think  his  work  just  as  worthy  of  enlargement  as 
any  other,  claiming  that  his  past  ill  success  proves 


266  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

nothing;  hence  Mr.  Wheeler  generally  felt  that, 
though  annual  meetings  are  certainly  desirable  for 
other  reasons,  their  recommendations  on  money 
matters  were  of  very  little  intrinsic  value  and  even 
apt  to  be  positively  misleading,  unless  confirmed  at 
every  point  by  the  judgment,  privately  expressed, 
of  those  whom  the  Board  knows  to  be  competent 
judges;  for  experience  abundantly  proves  that  a  man 
may  be  a  really  good  missionary  in  most  matters, 
but  a  very  poor  judge  in  matters  of  missionary 
finance. 

All  of  which  points  clearly  to  the  need  of  local 
superintendents,  for  each  mission,  or  group  of  mis- 
sions, of  which  we  have  already  spoken,  (page  lOO), 
though  we  do  not  think  Mr.  Wheeler  ever  fully 
realized  that  this  was  what  his  exceedingly  poor 
opinion  of  the  financial  wisdom  of  annual  meetings 
legitimately  led  to. 

RAISING  MONEY  IN  AMERICA. 

But  a  friend  of  Dr.  Wheeler's,  one  of  the  happy 
company  who  crossed  the  ocean  together  in  the 
Henry  Hill  over  forty  years  ago,  tells  us  that  we 
ought  to  put  in  something  about  the  duty  of  the 
home  churches,  and  the  best  ways  of  interesting 
them  in  foreign  missions.  And  as  Mr.  Wheeler 
certainly  was  very  successful  in  interesting  people 
in  his  work;  and  also  raised  thousands  of  dollars 
for  the  general  work,  and  for  the  endowment  of 
Euphrates  College;  a  few  words  on  that  subject  will 
not  be  out  of  place. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  267 

If  then  our  readers  will  turn  back  to  page  254  they 
will  easily  see  that  the  law  of  generosity,  to  which 
Mr,  Wheeler  appealed  in  trying  to  make  men  give, 
applies  just  as  well  to  America  as  it  does  to  Turkey; 
and  that  if  men  keep  on  giving  more  and  more 
generously,  till  giving  becomes  a  positive  enthusi- 
asm, the  inevitable  outcome  will  be  larger  contribu- 
tions; and  we  believe  that  the  church  is  slowly 
waking  up  to  the  fact  that  our  most  generous  givers 
of  life  and  love  and  property  are  also  the  happiest 
people  among  us. 

HOW   TO  MAKE  AMERICAN  DONORS  MORE 
ENTHUSIASTIC. 

But  the  question  inevitably  arises,  How  can  we 
hasten  this  awakening,  and  make  men  realize  that 
giving  to  foreign  missions  is  one  of  the  mvestments 
which  brings  back  the  quickest  and  surest  returns 
of  happiness  and  growth?  To  this  question  Mr. 
Wheeler's  answer  seems  to  have  been,  Don't  appeal 
very  much  to  mere  pity;  for  pity  seems  to  be  a 
rather  secondary  virtue  in  most  natures,  especially 
in  masculine  ones;  but  rather  convince  people  that 
something  is  really  being  done,  and  Well  Done; 
then  love  of  man  and  love  of  success  will  join  hands 
to  strengthen  and  deepen  their  love  for  the  work; 
and,  as  their  interest  deepens,  their  contributions 
are  also  sure  to  grow  larger  and  more  frequent. 

If  then  we  wish  to  win  business-men  who  are  pro- 
foundly impressed  with  the  need  of  being  business- 
like in  everything,  we  must  convince  them  that  we 
too  are  working  in  a  business-like    way    ourselves. 


268  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

It  is  not  enough  to  simply  prove  that  we  are  doing 
good;  for  there  are  thousands  of  people  who  are  do- 
ing good  in  the  world  to  whom  we  would  never 
dream  of  giving  our  money.  But  we  must  convince 
them  that  we  are  doing  good  skilfully,  and  greatly; 
so  that  they  will  feel  even  without  our  saying  it, 
"This  man  or  woman  can  do  more  good  with  my 
money  than  I  can."  Then  will  the  money  begin  to 
flow  in;  and  keep  on  flowing,  so  long  as  this  convic- 
tion lasts.  For,  to  him  that  hath,  shall  be  given;" 
such  is  the  stern  but  beneficent  law  of  life  as  ex- 
plained by  the  Master  himself;  and  to  him  that  hath 
much  shall  much  be  given. 

Hence  it  was  Mr.  Wheeler's  intensely  business- 
like way  of  pressing  self-support  abroad  that  made 
his  appeals  at  home  strong  and  convincing.  And 
any  missionary  who  gets  a  clear,  strong  hold  on 
self-support,  as  a  working  principle  in  missionary 
life,  will  be  sure  to  find  willing  hearers  and  helpers 
in  the  home  land  as  well. 

And  even  in  times  of  financial  depression  good, 
strong,  live  articles  telling  of  the  tact  and  success 
and  business-like  insight  of  our  best  missionaries  in 
meeting  the  emergency  will  call  forth  a  quicker  and 
wider  response  from  most  hearts  than  pathetic  ap- 
peals ever  can.  For  though  we  pity  the  man,  who 
says  his  work  is  "going  to  pieces  under  his  very  eyes;" 
we  also  feel  that  there  is  little  use  in  helping  him; 
for  he  will  be  pretty  apt  to  break  down  again  tomor- 
row, even  if  we  help  pull  him  through  today.  And 
so  we  too  are  disheartened  by  the  very  plea  that  was 
meant  to  rouse  us. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  269 

Special  Contributions -So  Called. 

Here  also  it  will  be  well  to  speak  just  a  word  in  re- 
gard to  a  matter  of  which  we  do  not  remember  to 
have  heard  Mr.  Wheeler  speak,  but  which  on  account 
of  its  rapidly  growing  importance  certainly  needs 
to  be  mentioned;  namely,  How  far  missionaries 
should  be  allowed  to  receive  and  spend  money  for 
"special  objects,'"  for  which  the  home  board  is  not 
able  or  else  is  unwilling  to  make  appropriations? 

In  defence  of  this  practice  we  are  told  that  donors 
have  a  perfect  right  to  do  what  they  please  with  their 
own  money.  Well,  yes,  if  they  really  try  to  make  a 
wise  and  proper  use  of  it.  But  unfortunately  that 
does  not  hit  the  nail  on  the  head;  for  the  real  ques- 
tion is  whether  they  have  any  right  to  employ  an- 
other's paid  agents  in  spending  their  money  for  them 
in  ways  of  which  the  missionary's  real  employers, 
(who  pay  all  his  expenses)  disapprove.  This  sure- 
ly putsthe  matter  in  quite  another  light.  —  And  soon- 
er or  later  all  our  missionary  boards  will  have  to 
make  it  their  rule  that  no  such  money  shall  be  re- 
ceived or  spent  by  their  agents,  without  the  permis- 
sion of  the  home  board;  and  will  have  to  see  that 
the  asking  of  permission  is  not  simply  formal;  for 
sometimes  the  permission  should  be  wholly  withheld; 
and  at  other  times  given  only  with  certain  restric- 
tions. 

Of  course  such  restrictions  and  prohibitions  should 
not  be  too  frequent;  but  if  our  boards  are  to  really 
have  a  clearly  defined  plan  of  work;  a  few  enter- 
prising money  collectors  or  money  donors  should 


270  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

not  be  free  to  utterly  upset  that  plan,  by  a  too  free 
use  of  money;  for  the  mere  fact  that  "the  money 
was  not  taken  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  Board"  is 
no  guarantee  that  it  is  being  wisely  spent,  or  will 
not  seriously  interfere  with  the  wiser  plans  of  more 
careful  workers  in  the  same  mission. 

And  although  some  few  unreasonable  and  short- 
sighted missionaries  and  donors  ^ill  of  course  take 
permanent  offence;  and  some  others  feel  hurt  for  a 
while;  the  general  success  of  the  work,  and  the 
amounts  contributed  for  that  work,  would  both  be 
furthered  in  the  long  run  by  a  wise  and  respectful 
but  firm  assertion  of  the  right  of  the  majority,  to 
decide  how  freely  money  shall  be  spent  by  the  paid 
American  agents  of  our  churches;  so  long  as  these 
agents  get  their  funds  and  backing  mostly  from  the 
churches  at  large. 

For  while  every  man  should  be  free  to  choose  his 
own  master;  it  does  not  follow  that  he  should  be 
free  to  serve  two  masters,  whose  plans  and  methods 
conflict. 

WAYS  OF  SUPPORTING  MISSIONARIES. 

And  while  it  is  certainly  well  to  have  our  churches 
and  colleges  specially  interested  in  some  one  mis- 
sionary from  whom  they  hear  oftener  and  more 
directly  than  from  others,  we  very  seriously  doubt  the 
wisdom  of  letting  them  assume  the  support  of  that  mis- 
sionary ;  for  they  are  sure  in  Many  Instances  to  fur- 
nish their  pet  missionary  with  more  money  and 
more  boxes  than  he  or  she  really  needs  for  a  wise 
carrying   on   of  the   work.     For  the  temptation  to 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  271 

spend  money  too  freely  in  a  good  cause  is  one  of 
the  sorest  temptations  to  which  foreign  missionaries 
are  ever  subjected;  and  foreign  missionary  work  can 
freely  or  gotten  too  easily;  and  $400,000  spent  tinder 
the  strict  supervision  of  a  feiv  picked  leaders  ivould  do 
more  toward  planting  a  really  permanent  and  healthy 
work  tha?i  $600,000  spent  by  missionaries  each  of  whom 
gets  all  he  asks  for;  and  then  inevitably  spends  it  too 
never  be  much  of  a  success  where  money  is  spent  too 
freely. 

For  this  movement  for  individualizing  the  sup- 
port of  missionaries  is  sure  to  seriously  cripple 
our  mission  boards  in  their  attempts  to  properly  re- 
strain missionaries  who  are  inclined  to  spend  money 
too  freely;  while  also  discouraging  those  whose 
work  is  less  showy;  but  just  as  good.  —  Nor  is  this 
way  of  doing  likely  to  bring  about  any  permanent 
increase  in  donations,  as  Secretary  Leonard  of  the 
Methodist  Board  of  Missions  has  well  pointed  out;* 
for  when  death,  resignation  or  inability  to  write 
interesting  letters  once  breaks  the  link,  it  is  very 
hard  to  interest  them  again  in  some  one  else;  and  the 
power  to  write  newsy  and  picturesque  letters  is  one 
that  many  of  our  best  missionaries  utterly  lack;  for 
they  have  not  the  gift  of  tongues,  though  they  do 
have  the  gift  of  winning  souls. 

Yet  there  is  one  redeeming  feature  in  this  plan  of 
work.  —  It  does  often  get  people  personally  inter- 
ested in  some  one  missionary  or  station,  and  so  be- 
comes in  some  cases  the  starting  point  for  a  still 
broader  and   deeper  interest  in  the  work  at  large. 

♦International  Missionary  Index,  1898,  p.  57. 


272  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

But  this  does  not  in  any  way  justify  the  financial 
unwisdom  of  the  plan  as  now  in  vogue;  for,  if  each 
state  and  local  society  were  allowed  once  a  year  to 
invite  some  one  missionary,  in  whom  they  are  al- 
ready specially  interested,  to  act  as  their  honorary 
president*  and  adviser  in  missionary  matters,  many 
a  warm  friendship  would  spring  up  and  many  an 
added  dollar  be  given  for  the  good  cause,  without 
any  of  the  cramping,  irritating  and  unsettling  effects 
of  the  present  plan  of  work.  Only  you  should  be 
sure  and  tell  your  missionary  friend  all  about  your 
society,  church,  town  and  state,  and  what  you  have 
and  have  not  done  thus  far,  that  he  or  she  may  know 
how  and  what  to  advise  you;  and  let  it  be  under- 
stood beforehand  that  most  of  what  you  raise  with 
your  president's  help  will  go  to  the  work  at  large,  for 
which  he  pleads  and  not  to  him  personally  or  even 
to  his  special  corner  of  this  work;  the  reasons  for 
this  rule  being  kindly  but  firmly  explained  by  the 
missionary  to  the  church  or  society  with  which  he 
works.  Then  Will  Both  Giver  and  Receiver 
Work  More  Wisely  and  Steadily,  Even  if  the 
Money  Raised  Is  not  at  First   Quite  as  Much. 

A  FEW  IMPORTANT  STATISTICS. 

And  now  a  word  as  to  results  in  Harpoot,  so  far 
as  these  can  be  given  in  mere  statistics.  We  find 
that  in  1894  and  '95,  just  before  the  massacres, ||  the 

*0r  vice-president. 

llOf  results  since  the  massacres  we  are  unable  to  speak  statistically; 
though  we  do  know  that  the  spirit  of  prayerfulness  and  earnest  striving  after 
self-support  still  lives  on  in  the  Harpoot  churches  in  spite  of  the  crushing 
blows  which  have  fallen  on  them,  and  undoubtedly  delayed  the  full  triumph 
of  self-support. 


THE   PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  273 

single  station  of  Harpoot  had  under  its  care  fitty- 
four  different  outstations,  with  the  following  show- 
ing of  work  and  workers: 

Regular  Preaching  Places,  54 

Pastors  and  Preachers,  42 

Teachers,  94 

Other  Helpers  in   Religious  Work,  19 

Total  Number  of  Workers  who  Give  their  Time 

Wholly  or  Mainly  to  the  Work,  155 

Number  of  Churches,  26 

Number   of   Regular   Congregations  not    yet 

formed  into  Churches,  28 

Number  of  Church  Members,  2005 

Number  of  Sunday  School  Scholars,  4419 

Number  of  Professed  Protestants,   •  10446 

Number  of  Common  Schools,  68 

Number  of  Schools  of  Higher  Grade,  (Includ- 
ing one  College  and  one  Theological  Sem- 
inary), II 
Total  Number  of  Schools,                                             79 
Total  Number  of  Pupils,                                           4269 
Of  Whom  1458  are  Girls. 


Benevolent  contributions   of  the  people  for  one 
year: 

For  Preaching,  ^3592 
For  Churches,  School  Houses  and  Parsonages,  ;^2266 

For  Teachers'  Salaries  and  Tuition,  S3471 

For  Missions,  Home  and   Foreign,  $  388 

For  Other  Purposes,  ;S3548 

Making  in  All,  ;^I3265 

(18) 


274  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Or,  going  back  farther,  and  comparing  the  amounts 
given  by  the  people  for  religious  and  educational 
work  with  the  amounts  sent  from  this  country  for  the 
same  kind  of  work,  (including  missionaries'  salaries, 
and  all  monies  spent  by  the  trustees  of  Euphrates 
College)  we  get  the  following  interesting  figures: 

From  1857  to  '61  the  people  gave  so  little  that  the 
missionaries  made  the  mistake  of  not  reporting  it  at 
all. 

But  in  1862  and  3  the  people's  contributions 
amounted  to  $?>.%  each  year  for  every  one  hundred 

dollars  sent  from  this  country $  8.95 

Then   in  1864  they  gave. ;?>22.65 

While    from    1865   to  '71  they    gave  on  an 

average $^S-7^ 

After  which  comes  a  gap  for  which  we  have 

no  figures. 
But  for  the  years   1886  to  '90  we  find  once 
more  that  their  average  yearly  do- 
nations have  gone  up  to S93.62 

While  from  1891  to  '94  they  gave  on  an  aver- 
age each  year $96.07 

A  GLANCE  AT  SOME  OTHER  MISSIONS. 

Surely  these  figures  are  significant  and  encourag- 
ing. And  yet,  though  we  are  proud  of  Harpoot, 
our  hearts  are  most  cheered  by  the  less  striking  but 
equally  significant  proof  which  we  find  that  all  over 
this  wide  world,  wherever  mission  work  is  done,  the 
cause  of  self-support  and  self-consecration  is  slowly 
but  steadily  gaining  ground. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  275 

That  we  may  see  this  more  clearly,  let  us  look 
at  a  few  sample  statistics  from  other  lands,  so  care- 
fully condensed  and  grouped  that  their  meaning  can 
be  seen  at  a  glance. 

We  turn  then  first  of  all  to  the  other  missions  of 
the  Board,  and  taking  each  mission  as  a  whole,  be- 
cause we  have  no  figures  in  regard  to  single  stations, 
and  taking  a  period  of  nine  years  (1888  to  1896  in- 
clusive,) so  as  to  be  sure  and  not  be  misled  by 
merely  temporary  variations,  we  get  the  following 
results: 

We  find,  first  of  all,  that  in  four  of  the  newest  and 
smallest  missions  of  the  Board,  so  little  importance 
seems  to  have  been  attached  to  the  detailed  and  sys- 
tematic and  early  culture  of  a  self-supporting  spirit, 
and  self-supporting  habits,  that  like  the  Harpoot  mis- 
sionaries of  long  ago  (1857  to  '61)  they  have  failed 
to  report  native  contributions  with  anything  like  reg- 
ularity; one  mission  having  apparently  reported  this 
important  item  only  twice  in  nine  years!  —  And  yet 
all  four  of  these  missions  are  at  least  fourteen  years 
old,  and  ought  certainly  to  have  something  definite 
to  report  each  year,  as  evidence  that  their  eight 
churches,  231  church  members  and  941  adherents  are 
making  a  begmning  in  the  acquisition  of  that  self- 
supporting  spirit  without  which  a  church  can  never 
be  strong  and  healthy.  And  we  doubt  not  that  these 
missions  have  done  more  in  wheat,  corn,  oil,  cash  and 
muscle  than  their  statistics  seem  to  indicate;  and  yet 
we  cannot  help  hoping  that  some  friendly  pen  will 
impress  upon  them  a  little  more  clearly  the  impor- 
tance of  making  an  early  beginning,  and  of  carefully 


276  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

comparing  and  reporting  each  years  contributions.  For 
self-support  is  a  virtue  which  requires  long  and  care- 
ful culture  for  its  proper  development;  and  the  earlier 
the  training  begins  and  the  more  systematic  it  is,  the 
richer  will  the  blessing  be.* 

But  leaving  these  missions,  we  come  to  a  fifth  one, 
Japan,  in  which  the  missionaries  seem  to  have  made 
the  curious  mistake  of  not  reporting  the  religious 
and  educational  contributions  of  their  churches  when 
once  they  became  self-supporting;  so  that  while  the 
native  churches  have  in  reality  been  giving  more 
and  more  each  year,  the  statistics  seem  to  indicate 
that  they  are  giving  less  and  less. 

But  fifteen  of  our  most  promising  missions  yet 
remain  to  be  heard  from.  How  fares  self-support 
in  these?  Are  the  people  proving  and  deepening 
their  love  for  the  Gospel,  and  for  Christian  educa- 
tion, by  gradually  taking  upon  themselves  a  larger 
and  larger  proportion  of  the  cost  of  supporting 
them?  Yes,  in  all  but  one  of  them  they  are;  and 
in  some  the  progress  has  been  so  great  and  steady, 
and  in  others  so  steady  (though  small)  as  to  be  very 
cheering. 

First  of  all  then  we  find  one  mission  field,  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  which  may  be  counted  wholly 
self-supporting;  for  the  people  give  for  foreign  mis- 
sions each  year  more  than  we  send  to  them. 

*In  one  of  these  missions,  some  at  least  of  whose  missionaries  we  know  to 
be  hearty  and  successful  workers  for  self-support,  the  total  reported  native 
contributions  (in  dollars)  for  the  nine  years  run  as  follows:  Nothing,  noth- 
ing, 72,  48,  151,  60,  nothing  and  5;  which  plainly  shows  very  careless  report- 
ing; or  else  that  the  good  work  of  some  stations  is  sadly  neutralized  by 
others.  Which  is  it?  Or  is  it  both?  For  surely  it  is  natural  and  proper 
and  well  worth  while  that  the  American  churches  should  want  to  know  just 
how  much  each  station  and  mission  does  for  itself. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  277 

Then  next  there  comes  a  group  of  seven  missions, 
in  which  the  people  have  for  these  nine  years  been 
coming  steadily  and  some  of  them  very  rapidly 
nearer  to  self-support;  the  average  gain  in  these 
seven  missions,  for  the  whole  period  of  nine  years, 
being  86  per  cent.  These  missions  are  Central  Tur- 
key, European  Turkey,  Austria,  Zulu,  Foochow, 
Mexico  and  North  China. 

Then  come  three  more  missions,  "nine  to  eleven," 
which  have  gone  a  good  long  ways  toward  self-sup- 
port, each  of  them  giving  ^33.00  or  more  per  year  to 
supplement  each  Sioo.oo  sent  from  this  country; 
the  only  drawback  being  that  their  growth  in  giving 
has'  not  been  quite  as  steady  as  that  in  the  first 
seven  missions.  And  yet  even  these  have  gained 
in  nine  years  all  the  way  from  18  to  50  per  cent. 
These  missions  are  Spain,  Western  Turkey  and  East- 
ern Turkey,  taking  Eastern  Turkey  as  a  whole. 

Then  come  numbers  twelve  to  fourteen  (Ceylon, 
Madura  and  Micronesia)  which  do  not  make  quite 
as  good  a  showing;  though  in  all  of  these  there  has 
been  a  gain  for  the  last  two  or  three  years;  and  one 
of  them,  Ceylon,  certainly  stands  high  in  the  total 
amounts  given,  though  there  is  very  little  increase 
for  the  nine  years  in  the  actual  amount;  and  a  posi- 
tive falling  off  in  the  relative  amount.  We  are  also 
informed  that  Ceylon  gets  a  good  deal  of  unreported 
financial  help  from  other  sources,  which  lowers  its 
relative  rank  in  the  matter  of  self-support. 

In  regard  to  Micronesia  (Number  14)  we  should 
also  add  that  there  is  good  reason  for  thinking  that 
the  statistics  do  not  doher  justice;  through  an  un- 


278  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

fortunate  failure  on  the  part  of  the  missionaries  to 
report  at  a  fair  market  valuation  contributions  of 
oil,  wood,  bread,  muscle  etc.,  given  by  the  people  in 
support  of  their  native  pastors,  and  for  church 
building  and  parsonage  building  purposes.  For 
their  published  letters  report  much  greater  liberality 
than  their  statistics  seem  to  indicate.* 

Then  comes  Marathi,  the  only  one  of  these  fifteen 
missions  where  self-support  seems  to  be  going  back- 
ward; for  certainly  her  reports  are  not  favorable. 
Yet  even  here  the  backset  may  be  only  temporary, 
and  is  undoubtedly  due  in  part,  though  not  wholly, 
to  recent  famines. 

With  this  one  exception,  then,  all  the  larger  mis- 
sions of  the  Board  are  in  the  successful  list;  and 
some  of  those  which  we  have  put  down  as  unsatis- 
factory have  in  a  very  unsystematic  way  been  doing 
something  for  self-support,  as  may  be  seen  from  their 
letters. 

So  that  the  outlook  is  a  cheering  one;  and  yet  we 
do  believe  that  a  little  more  systematic  effort  along 
these  lines  will  accomplish  still  more  in  the  years  to 
come;  and  greatly  increase  the  amount  of  good  that 
can  be  done  with  each  one  hundred  dollars  raised  in 
this  country.  Especially  if  each  station  is  furnished 
each  year  with  a  bird'  s-eye  view  of  its  standing  for  the 
past  nine  or  ten  years,  as  compared  with  every  other  sta- 
tion.    For   a  mere  comparison  of  missions,  though 

*To  do  full  justice  to  our  native  churches,  rooms  furnished  rent  free  for 
use  of  teachers,  preachers,  schools  and  regular  chapels  should  also  be  in- 
cluded in  such  reports,  at  a  fair  rent  valuation,  though  not  rooms  which  are 
thrown  open  for  simple  social  gatherings  only  once  a  week;  for  such  rooms 
can  always  be  secured  rent  free,  and  involve  very  little  self-denial. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY. 


279 


helpful,  is  not  at  all  satisfactory;  for  one  backward, 
careless  station  may  wholly  cover  up  the  good  work 
of  another.  —  We  now  give  the  statistics  in  detail. 


Average  Amount  Contributed  in  Each  Mission  by 
the  People  Themselves,  for  the  Support  of  Religious 
and  Educational  Institutions,  Home  and  Foreign,  to 
Supplement  Each  One  Hundred  Dollars  Spent  on 
Said  Mission  by  the  Board. 


Average 

Average 

Average 

a  S2 
S2 

m 

Name 

for 

for 

for 

u   >» 

SJ 

of 

three  y'rs 

three  y'rs 

three  y'rs 

a« 

g 

Mission. 

1888-90. 

1891-93. 

1894-96. 

Remarks. 

Q 

S'S 

3 

'6a 

I 

Sandwich  Islands 

Wholly 

Self-Sup 

porting. 

See  explanation 

2 

Central  Turkey 

1Q.85 
18.11 

26.78 

39-07 

given  above. 

97 

3 

European  Turkey 

21.79 

22.81 

26 

4 

Austria 

8.01 

13.94 
8.31 

20.63 
11.28 

Note  A. 

157 

5 

Zulus 

5.14 

119 

6 

Foochow 

4-23 

5.14 

9.00 

113 

I 

Mexico 

3.85 

7.21 

Note  B. 

87 

North  China 

.39 

.89 

Note  C. 

128 

9 

Western  Turkey 

22.70 

19.69 

34.13 

50 

10 

28.43 

26.67 

33-64 

18 

II 

Eastern  Turkey 

27.27 

2S.63 

32.94 

See  explanation 

21 

12 

Ceylon 

44.69 

35.59 

42.34 

given  above. 

13 

Madura 

13-70 

8.85 

11.32 

Note  D. 

14 

Micronesia 

S.24 

3.44 

4-45 

See  explanation 

15 

Marathi 

6.05 

5.03 

3-51 

given  above. 

A^(?/*  ./4.  — Notice  how  fast  number  four  (Austria)  is  gaining  on  number 
three  (European  Turkey). 

Note  B.  — In  numher  seven,  (Mexico)  there  is  a  slight  fall  the  last  three 
years;  but  as  it  is  very  slight  and  was  due  to  exceptionally  large  contribu- 
tions in  1893,  we  do  not  feel  justified  in  shutting  her  out  of  the  honor  list. 

Note  C  — As  to  number  eight  (North  China)  the  amounts  thus  far  given 
are  very  small,  but  the  increase  from  year  to  year  for  each  of  the  nine  years 
is  so  steady,  that  we  will  watch  for  future  developments  in  this  mission  with 
great  interest. 

Note  D.  —  This  mission  reached  its  lowest  point  for  nine  years  in  1891, 
and  has  been  slowly  coming  up  ever  sinoe. 


28o  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

A  Comparison  of  Different  Boards. 

A  comparison  of  the  work  of  twenty-eight  differ- 
ent foreign  missionary  boards  in  this  country  repre- 
senting Methodists,  Baptists,  Congregationalists, 
Presbyterians,  Episcopalians,  Christians,  etc.,  etc., 
and  various  divisions  of  these.  North,  South,  Re- 
formed, etc.,  —  for  a  period  of  seven  years,  1890  to 
'96,  also  shows  that  most  of  these  societies  are  gain- 
ing in  the  matter  of  native  self-support,  and  some  of 
them  gaining  very  rapidly;  though  our  statistics  are 
not  quite  complete  enough  for  print. 

Yet  even  here  some  societies  show  a  tendency  to 
sit  back  on  their  laurels  and  say,  we  have  done 
enough;  though  a  detailed  study  of  their  work  shows 
very  plainly  that  they  might  do  more;  for  in  matters 
like  these  one  success  only  makes  a  still  higher  suc- 
cess possible  and  obligatory,  until  full  self-support 
is  reached,  first  for  individual  churches  and  later  on 
for  whole  countries. 

And  both  men  individually  and  societies  as  a 
whole  are  in  constant  danger  of  making  the  bright 
spots  in  their  work  an  excuse  for  overlooking  and 
almost  forgetting  the  weaker  parts;  which  surely  is 
not  good  policy,  however  "natural"  it  may  be. 

And  we  also  find  some  societies  that  have  just 
reached  the  spasmodic  stage,  reporting  a  little  one 
year,  a  lot  the  next  and  none  the  third;  and  so  on 
up  and  down.  Though  even  this  shows  which  way 
public  opinion  is  setting;  and  that  the  importance 
of  doing  something,  and  reporting  it,  is  being  more 
widely  felt  than  formerly,  when    even    our  largest 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  281 

societies  made  no  attempt  to  report  this  important 
item  with  any  regularity. 

Then,  finally,  as  to  the  work  of  English  and  Con- 
tinental societies,  we  have  not  at  this  distance  been 
able  to  get  any  statistics  for  comparison;  but  in  re- 
ports from  single  missions,  and  in  general  state- 
ments of  policy,  unaccompanied  by  statistics,  we 
find  evidence  that  here  also  the  cause  of  a  self-con- 
secrated and  self-reliant  native  Christianity  is  stead- 
ily gaining  ground,  even  in  lands  where  the  people 
are  the  poorest. 

A   FEW  LAST  WORDS. 

And  now  we  have  come  to  the  close  of  the  one 
central  topic,  "Self-Supporting  Churches  and  How 
to  Plant  Them  Successfully"  on  which  Mr.  Wheel- 
er's life  threw  more  new  light  probably  than  on  any 
other  single  topic  in  the  whole  range  of  missionary 
thought.  That  he  handled  it  with  a  master  hand 
few  have  ever  dared  to  deny;  and  we  feel  sure  that 
in  years  to  come,  when  the  history  of  missionary 
methods  shall  be  written,  his  name  will  be  sure  to 
come  in  at  this  point  for  very  special  mention.  Not 
because  no  one  else  had  the  same  thoughts;  but  be- 
cause no  one  else  worked  them  out  into  rules  and 
actions  as  fully  and  as  accurately,  or  dared  to  face 
so  publicly  the  obloquy  of  championing  what  at 
first  was  a  very  unpopular  cause. 

For,  bewitched  by  a  strange  misinterpretation  of 
the  example  of  the  early  Christian  church,  mission- 
aries and  laymen  alike  all  over  the  world  were  in 
those  early  years  suspicious  of  anything  that  seemed 


282  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

to  make  the  gospel  less  free;  forgetting  that  even 
Christ  never  made  it  wholly  free  but  said,  "Take  up 
thy  cross"  and  "Bear  my  yoke,"  and  then  I  can  bless 
you.  True  Christ  did  not  ask  for  money,  except  in 
the  form  of  hospitality;  for  he  did  not  need  much 
then,  and  all  he  needed  came  unasked;  and  further- 
more all  his  followers  were  giving  regularly  to  another 
church,  (the  Jewish,)  from  which  the  time  had  not 
yet  come  for  them  to  separate. 

But  the  principle  remains  the  same;  whatever  the 
"yoke"  may  happen  to  be;  and  sometimes  the  giving 
of  money  is  an  even  heavier  cross  than  bearing  per- 
secution, or  any  other  form  of  painful  goodness  which 
a  kind  Father  asks  us  to  undertake  for  his  sake. 

And  surely  Jesus,  who  called  on  one  young  man 
to  give  up  all,  and  follow  him;  and  then  let  the  young 
man  go  away  sad,  rather  than  change  the  conditions, 
(Mark  10:17-22;)  andatanother  time  praised  so  high- 
ly the  woman  who  put  her  all  into  the  Lord's  treas- 
ury—  surely  he  is  not  going  to  disapprove  of  apian 
which  calls  on  men  to  give  a  little  money  to  the  Lord; 
and  then  blesses  them  more  and  more  richly  the  more 
they  love  to  give. 

AS  TO  MISUNDERSTANDINGS  AND  ABUSE. 

"But  was  he  not  often  roundly  abused  by  some  very 
good  men?"  Yes;  because  all  men  are  naughty  at 
times;  and  some  men  a  good  deal  oftener  than  oth- 
ers. "For  the  good  that  I  would  I  do  not;  but  the 
evil  that  I  would  not,  that  I  do;"  as  Paul  so  plainly 
tells  us. 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  283 

But  when  your  little  girl  occasionally  abuses  you 
for  enforcing  the  law  of  duty,  you  remember  how 
sweetly  and  humbly,  though  silently,  she  apologized 
last  time  she  abused  you,  and  how  these  spells  are 
becoming  less  and  less  frequent;  and  so  you  are  com- 
forted, and  made  very  firm  but  tender. 

And  surely,  in  India,  China,  Turkey  or  America, 
wherever  pastors  or  missionaries  are  ever  abused, 
they  can  take  comfort  in  this  thought.  For,  after 
leaving  out  a  very  small  sprinkling  of  hypocritical 
wolves  in  sheep's  clothing,  every  really  love-taught 
missionary  will  find  that  his  naughty  children  do  love 
and  honor  him,  in  spite  of  some  pretty  violent  abuse; 
and  that  they  love  him  more  and  more  as  time  goes  on. 

And  though  a  freer  use  of  money  would  doubtless 
lessen  the  abuse;  it  would  not  increase  the  love ;  and 
would  not  bring  more  souls  to  Christ  or  heaven, 
even  if  it  did  make  the  church  rolls  grow  faster.  So 
let  us  not  be  discouraged;  but  simply  look  forward 
and  backward  and  inward  to  those  things  in  our 
lives  which  show  that  clouds  cannot  last  forever,  if 
we  ourselves  are  true  and  slowly  growing  truer. 

AS  TO  THE  NEED  OF  PRUNING. 

And  now  in  closing  this  part  of  the  discussion  let 
me  call  attention  once  more  to  the  need  of  occa- 
sional pruning.  For  no  vine  can  ever  be  fruitful 
without  a  good  deal  of  pruning;  for  not  only  must 
dead  branches  be  wholly  removed;  but  even  live 
ones  must  be  pruned  more  or  less  when  their  growth 
tends  to  becomes  one-sided  and  unhealthy.     Even  as 


284  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

plants  have  sometimes  to  be  deprived  of  light  and 
heat,  or  heat  and  moisture,  so  as  to  prevent  their 
exhausting  their  vitality  in  a  too  morbidly  rapid 
growth. 

The  good  missionary,  then,  must  be  a  good  sur- 
geon; and  one  who  is  not  afraid  to  use  the  knife; 
though  careful  not  to  use  it  recklessly,  —  But  why? 
Simply  because  a  failure  to  use  it  may  doom  a 
church  to  death  by  gangrene  and  blood-poisoning; 
which  a  timely  bit  of  loving  surgery  would  have 
prevented;  and  the  missionary  who  dares  not  run 
the  risk  of  leaving  "an  important  center"  without 
either  preacher  or  teacher  for  a  while,  if  need  be, 
when  they  obstinately  refuse  to  do  their  part,  toward 
paying  their  leader's  salary,  will  simply  pay  for  his 
cowardice  and  folly  by  seeing  that  "important  cen- 
ter" cursed  ere  long  with  a  church  which  is  dead,  and 
so  wholly  incapable  of  further  growth;  or  else  so 
worldly  and  self-seeking  as  to  be  a  good  deal  worse 
for  the  Lord's  cause  than  no  church  at  all. 

For  the  question  that  God  asks,  the  question  that 
history  will  ask  is  not,  "How  many  churches  have 
you?"  but  "How  many  live,  healthy  churches?" 
Though  in  the  long  run  the  healthiest  churches  will 
also  be  the  largest  in  their  total  combined  member- 
ship. 

But  this  fact  an  over-timid  man  is  apt  to  forget; 
and  as  for  quality,  "Church  member"  and  "Chris- 
tian" seem  to  him  almost  the  same;  and  so  he  goes 
sadly  astray.  Hence  it  is  that  some  good  men  ac- 
complish so  little.  And  hence,  too,  it  comes  that 
all  of  us  succeed  in  accomplishing  more,  whenever 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  285 

our  courage  and  insight  are  increased  by  a  more 
perfect  trust  in  God,  and  a  more  careful  study  of 
human  nature,  or  in  other  words,  by  a  more  con- 
stant use  of  Christ's  farewell  motto:  "Watch  and 
Pray." 

I  do  not  deny  that  sometimes,  though  rarely,  a 
community  of  inquirers  breaks  up  and  never  forms 
again,  when  they  find  that  there  is  a  cross  to  be 
borne  and  an  idol  to  be  cast  down.  Yet  even  for 
such  as  these  an  evident  and  undisguised  backslid- 
ing is  better  than  for  them  to  go  on  thinking  them- 
selves followers  of  Jesus,  when  really  they  love 
money  more  than  they  do  God;  as  Christ  plainly 
showed  in  his  treatment  of  the  rich  young  man;  and 
there  is  a  sad  comfort  in  the  strange  truth,  alike 
scriptural  and  natural,  that  for  persistent  wrong- 
doers a  total  cutting  off  is  often  the  only  possible 
way  of  ever  bringing  them  to  repentance.  (See  for 
example    that  strange  but    beautiful   verse,    I  Cor. 

5:5)- 

But  perhaps  the  most  trying  situation  of  all  is  when 
the  missionary  cannot  do  anything  toward  self-sup- 
port without  admitting  that  his  own  past  policy  has 
been  radically  wrong.  But  even  in  such  a  case,  the 
sooner  he  admits  it,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  the  sooner 
will  matters  straighten  out,  and  his  own  peace  of  mind 
return.  Nor  will  he  lose  one  whit  of  the  respect  of 
his  people.  For  a  growing  man  is  one  we  all  respect, 
even  if  he  does  have  to  admit  that  some  of  yester- 
day's plans  were  faulty,  and  that  today's,  though  cer- 
tainly better,  are  probably  still  far  from  perfect.  — For 
such  men  are  always  helpful  and  always  uplifting. 


286  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

As  to  the  Need  of  More  Definite  Comparative 
Statistics. 

A  word  should  also  be  spoken  just  here  as  to  the 
need  of  more  definite  comparative  statistics  in  money 
matters,  if  the  less  far-sighted  among  our  noble  band 
of  missionaries  are  ever  to  be  brought  up  to  really 
wise  ways  of  using  money  in  the  Lord's  cause;  for  it 
is  very  easy  for  even  the  best  of  men  to  forget  that 
money  unwisely  used  is  sure  to  give  rise  to  many 
other  evils;  so  that  they  tear  down  day  by  day  with 
one  hand  what  they  so  carefully  build  up  with  the 
other. 

And  pray,  how  will  statistics -help?  Is  there  any 
magic  in  statistics?  No,  there  is  not.  But  when 
carefully  boiled  down  and  Reduced  To  Ratios,  and 
then  tabulated  so  as  to  compare  at  a  glance  the  ra- 
tios of  Five  or  Ten  Successive  Years  and  five  or 
ten  or  fifty  different  missions  or  stations  in  different  parts 
of  the  world,  then  statistics  do  indeed  become  most 
startlingly  significant  of  growth  or  decay  in  the  mat- 
ter of  general  self-consecration  on  the  part  of  our 
churches. 

For  whenever  a  church  or  mission  fails  for  any  long 
period  of  years  to  make  some  progress  toward  a 
manly  and  vigorous  self-support,  experience  always 
shows  that  at  some  vital  point  that  church  or  mission 
is  weak,  needlessly  weak,  with  a  weakness  that  might 
have  been  cured  had  it  but  been  seen  more  clearly 
by  those  nearest  the  scene  of  action.  And  here  it  is 
that  the  mortifying  and  encouraging  power  of  com- 
parative statistics  comes  so  strongly  into  play.  —  For 


THE  PROPER  USE  OF  MONEY.  287 

such  statistics  of  all  the  different  stations  of  any  one 
mission  board,  all  reduced  to  ratios,  so  as  to  be  com- 
parable at  a  glance,  would  put  some  stations  in  each 
mission  on  the  strong  list,  and  others  on  the  "weak 
but  growing  list,"  and  others  on  the  stand-still  or 
backsliding  list,  so  evidently  as  to  set  all  to  thinking 
more  earnestly  and  more  definitely  for  the  reason  of 
it  all.  (See  for  example  the  statistics  on  pages  274 
and  279.) 

But  to  simply  state,  as  is  now  customary,  that  the 
native  Christians  of  one  community  gave  one  hun- 
dred dollars,  while  those  of  another  gave  fifty,  is  to 
throw  but  very  little  light  on  the  merits  of  these 
two  stations;  for  the  church  that  gave  fifty  may 
really  be  a  great  deal  nearer  self-support  than  the 
one  that  gave  a  hundred.  Or,  to  take  another  case 
from  real  life;  when  of  two  missions  in  the  same 
country  one  reports  book-sales  amounting  to  240CX) 
volumes  a  year;  and  another  reports  25000;  it  is 
perfectly  natural  that  we  should  think  of  both  as  do- 
ing good  work.  But  when,  long  after,  it  occurs  to 
us  that  the  first  of  these  missions  has  only  two  male 
missionaries,  while  the  other  has  about  twenty, 
it  flashes  across  us  that  one  is  doing  exceptionally 
fine  work  in  this  sort  of  seed-planting,  while  the 
other  is  doing  relatively  almost  nothing.  Thus 
completely  upsetting  our  first  conception.  But  all 
this  misunderstanding  might  have  been  prevented 
had  the  reports  read  thus: 

Total  sales,  24000,         25000 

Average  sales  for  each  superintend- 
ing male  missionary,  12000,  1250 


388  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Nor  is  it  enough  to  say  that  anyone  who  wants  to 
can  sit  down  and  figure  out  these  ratios;  for  those 
who  need  them  most  of  all  are  the  very  o?tes  who  will 
not  do  it\  and  for  each  missionary  to  do  it  for  him- 
self would  also  involve  a  most  unnecessary  waste  of 
time;  for  ratios,  though  full  of  meaning,  when  once 
found,  are  very  slow  things  to  work  out  on  any 
large  scale. 

Nor  should  we  forget  that  our  business  instincts 
and  duties  and  our  spiritual  ones  are  so  closely  re- 
lated that  the  missionary  whose  financial  methods 
are  the  wisest  is,  almost  sure  to  be,  all  things  con- 
sidered, the  strongest  spiritually. 

NEED  OF  EXPERT  FINANCIERS. 

And  as  our  mission  boards,  Congregational,  Meth- 
odist, Baptist,  Presbyterian,  etc.,  come  to  more 
closely  scrutinize  and  compare  the  financial  wisdom 
or  unwisdom  of  various  groups  of  missionaries,  they 
will  also  be  sure  in  time  to  select  in  each  mission  or 
locality  some  one  man  as  acknowledged  financial 
leader  and  adviser,  with  the  understanding  that 
ordinarily  no  expenditure  of  mission  money  will  be 
authorized  till  that  expert  has  given  his  approval  to 
the  plan. 

For,  as  Mr.  Wheeler  used  to  often  remark,  the 
leaving  of  such  matters  to  a  mere  mission  vote  is 
simply  absurd;  for  each  good  missionary  is  sure  to 
have  some  pet  scheme  of  his  own  to  press  through; 
and  so  would  be  very  apt  to  deal  too  gently  with 
the  well-meaning,  but  ill-timed  schemes  of  others. 
But  of  this  matter  we  have  already  spoken  fully 
enough  elsewhere,  (pages  99  and  265.) 


CHAPTER  XV. 

FOUNDING  COLLEGES;  ITS  BENEFITS 
AND  DANGERS. 

RELIGION  AND  EDUCATION  HOW  RELATED. 

If  we  closely  examine  Christ's  great  law  of  love, 
"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself,"  we  find  in  it,  by  implication,  a 
third  element,  namely  the  natural  right  and  duty  of 
a  man  to  love  himself;  out  of  which  grows  the  in- 
stinct of  self-improvement,  of  which  selfishness*  is 
but  a  hideous  and  vain  perversion. 

Thus  far  in  our  study  of  Mr.  Wheeler's  life  we 
have  fixed  our  attention  almost  wholly  on  his  way 
of  teaching  those  truths  which  bear  directly  and 
evidently  on  men's  duties  to  God  and  each  other. 
Now  we  must  turn  to  see  what  he  did  to  help  men 
in  that  other  field  of  mere  self-culture,  of  which  the 
final  aim  is  not  always  as  clear  or  as  easy  to  change. 
Here  we  shall  find  him  battling  with  quite  a  differ- 
ent group  of  problems  from  those  we  have  thus  far 
considered;  sometimes  successfully,  and  sometimes 
not,  but  nearly  always  adding  something  towards  a 
more  complete  solution  of  the  problem  of  missions 
to  which  he  had  devoted  his  life. 

♦Injuring  others  in  hopes  of  benefiting  one's  self. 

(19-289) 


290  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Importance  of  Common  Schools. 

We  find  then  that  early  in  their  missionary  life 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wheeler  and  their  missionary  associ- 
ates were  deeply  impressed  with  the  need  of  helping 
the  children;  and  giving  them  early  in  life  those 
glimpses  of  truth,  and  habits  of  thought,  without 
which  a  self-reliant  and  truth-loving  manhood  is 
hard  to  attain. 

But  they  also  realized  that  simple  common  schools; 
though  necessary  as  one  element  in  missionary  work, 
are  nevertheless  of  wholly  secondary  importance; 
and  should  never  be  relied  o?i  as  a  substitute  for  active , 
aggressive  missionary  work  among  adults,  some  of 
whom  can  always  be  reached  without  the  aid  of 
common  schools,  in  a  community  that  is  really 
ready  for  systematic  seed  sowing;  for  though  adults 
are  harder  to  find  and  get  hold  of  than  children, 
they  furnish  nevertheless,  when  found,  a  broader 
and  surer  foundation  for  permanent  work. 

Is  then  the  salvation  of  children  less  important 
than  that  of  adults?  No;  but  if  you  do  not  spend  a 
proper  amount  of  time  in  saving  the  adults,  nine- tenths 
of  what  you  do  for  the  children  will  soon  be  choked  out\ 
or  buried  so  deep  that  God  alone  can  see  it;  a  fact 
which  enthusiastic  missionary  teachers  are  too  apt 
to  forget. 

HOW  TO  SELECT  THE  BEST  NATIVE  TEACHERS. 

But  coming  now  to  a  more  detailed  examination 
of  the  policy  of  Mr.  Wheeler  and  his  associates  in 
regard  to  common    schools,  (and   also   schools   of 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  291 

higher  grade,)  we  find  first  and  foremost  of  all,  the 
rule  that  no  teacher  should  be  sent  out  at  missionary 
expense  who  was  not  also  fit,  morally  and  religiously, 
to  do  evangelistic  work  for  individuals,  and  to  con- 
duct simple,  informal  evangelistic  services,  when- 
ever and  wherever  he  could  find  a  few  willing  hear- 
ers; and  that  each  worker  must  spend  a  part  of  his 
time  in  just  such  personal  work  as  this. 

MAKING  THE  PEOPLE  SUPPORT  THEIR  OWN 
SCHOOLS. 

And  furthermore  we  find  that  even  in  later  years, 
when  many  young  men  and  women  were  sent  out 
from  Euphrates  College  to  act  simply  as  teachers, 
mostly  or  wholly  at  the  people's  expense,  it  was  only 
when  the  work  in  a  community  was  so  well  estab- 
lished that  the  preacher  or  pastor  needed  all  his  time 
and  strength  for  more  purely  religious  work,  and  so 
called  for  an  assistant;  the  only  other  exceptions  to 
this  rule  being  when  a  preacherless  community  were 
so  eager  to  have  a  school  that  they  were  willing  to 
take  the  whole  responsibility,  and  also  furnish  a  room 
rent  free,  warm  it  themselves,  and  pay  from  the  very 
start  a  generous  and  steadily  increasing  sum  toward 
the  teacher's  salary,  the  teacher  in  such  cases  gener- 
ally being  some  young  person  from  their  own  com- 
munity, who  had  spent  three,  six  or  perhaps  twelve 
months  in  study  at  Harpoot,  and  hoped  to  return 
there  again  later  on,  if  found  competent  and  worthy; 
even  this  Harpoot  visit  being  paid  for  largely  or 
wholly  by  the  young  teacher's  own  parents,  though 
tuition  at  Harpoot  was  of  course  low  and  the  board 
which  these  parents  furnished  naturally  very  plain. 


292  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

How  different  this  policy  from  that  of  another 
missionary  worker  in  the  Orient,  who  writes;  "The 

people  of have  sent  a  delegation  asking  for  us 

to  open  a  school  in  their  town;  and  if  we  only  had 
;S250.oo  we  would  at  once  start  one,  for  the  opening 
is  certainly  a  most  promising  one." 

To  which  Mr.  Wheeler  would  probably  have  re- 
plied—.Give  me  ^250.00  and  I  will  start  ten  or  twelve 
such  schools,  more  promising  than  yours;  for  people 
who  are  too  stingy  to  furnish  a  simple  school  room 
free  of  rent  and  to  pay  a  good  share  of  the  teacher's 
salary,  will  not  let  their  children  get  much  good 
from  the  school.* 

ONLY  A  CHRISTIAN  CAN  TEACH  CHRISTIANITY. 

But  secondly  we  find  that  Mr.  Wheeler  and  his 
colleagues  felt  very  strongly  that  even  assistant 
teachers,  (i.  e.,  those  who  teach  without  preaching) 
should  always  be  young  men  and  women  whose  life 
and  character  carries  with  it  a  truly  Christian  tone 
or  atmosphere.  For  Mr.  Wheeler  and  his  col- 
leagues had  no  faith  in  that  extraordinary  philoso- 
phy which  believes  that  lessons  in  reading,  writing 
and  arithmetic  will  purify  the  infant  mind,  almost 
regardless  of  the  teacher's  private  character.  For 
poison  is  poison,  even  though  it  be  mixed  with  the 
best  of  bread;  and  a  cold,  selfish,  self  seeking  teach- 
er, or  one  who  honors  not  God,  can  never  open  a  pu- 

*And  even  in  well  established  Christian  communities  it  was  generally 
thought  best  that  the  same  room  should  serve  as  school  room  and  chapel, 
until  the  people  reached  a  point  where  they  could  build  a  separate  school 
room  without  overtaxing  themselves,  or  receiving  from  the  Board  money 
which  was  more  needed  elsewhere  in  this  hungry,  sin-sick  world. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  293 

pil's  eyes  to  see  and  love  the  truth  which  he  himself 
has  never  seen  with  any  clearness,  and  never  learned 
to  love. 

SPENDING  TOO  MUCH   TIME  IN  SCHOOLS. 

But,  thirdly,  Mr.  Wheeler  claimed  that  the  pioneer 
missionary  himself  should  not  spend  much  time 
in  school-rooms,  though  visiting  them  frequently. 
And  why?  Simply  because  he  soon  saw  that  of  all 
the  different  branches  of  pioneer  missionary  work, 
that  to  be  done  in  schools  was  the  easiest,  and  so  could 
be  most  safely  left  to  carefully  chosen  assistants, 
while  the  missionary  devoted  himself  to  the  more 
difficult  task  of  convincing  and  convicting  and  con- 
verting adults,  while  simply  superintending tht.  school 
work  carefully  and  Planfully,  but  not  too  timefuUy. 
—  Nor  did  he  wait  prayerfully  for  the  adults  to  come 
to  him,  but  rather  Went  prayerfully  to  where  he 
could  find  them,  wherever  that  might  be. 

"But  did  Mr.  Wheeler  and  his  colleagues  always 
succeed  in  getting  and  keeping  only  such  teachers 
as  had  a  clearly  Christian  influence?"  No;  they 
did  not;  and  some  of  the  saddest  breaks  in  their 
wonderful  success  as  missionaries  are  traceable  to 
an  occasional  lowering  of  the  bars  at  this  vital 
point;  or  rather  to  a  too  patient  tolerating  of  an 
unchristian  spirit  in  some  of  their  helpers,  who  were 
at  heart  true,  but  were  weak  and  misleading.  And 
yet,  as  I  look  back  over  the  years,  my  heart  is  filled 
with  wonder  and  gladness,  as  I  see  how  seldom  they 
made  this  mistake,  and  how  frankly  they  confessed 
their  error,  when  once  they  clearly  saw  it. 


294  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

When  to  Stop  Stuffing  the  Memory. 

Mr.  Wheeler  and  his  colleagues  were  also  unani- 
mous that  whenever  education,  so-called,  began  to 
puff  up  a  boy,  or  man,  or  community,  then  educa- 
tion had  either  gone  too  fast  or  too  far,  and  a  halt 
had  better  be  called;  that  the  stoma.ch  might  have 
a  chance  to  rest,  and  feed  on  simpler  food.  Here 
too  they  did  not  always  act  quite  as  promptly  as 
they  should  have  done;  but  such  a  possibility  of 
suspension,  or  expulsion,  hanging  as  it  did  over  the 
head  of  every  pupil,  did  certainly  have  a  most 
salutary  effect  in  making  their  pupils  stop  and  con- 
sider; and  digest  their  thoughts  more  carefully. 
And  when  some  unlucky  community  lost  its  school 
for  a  while,  or  some  lofty-headed  youth  had  to  go 
home  suddenly,  "to  rusticate,"  the  event  was  one 
sure  to  be  noticed  and  long  remembered  by  others 
to  whom  the  same  temptations  came  though  in  a 
lesser  degree.* 

This  same  principle  of  not  overloading  the  mind, 
especially  minds  unused  to  the  intense  life  of  the 
west,  also  led  to  a  careful  limitation  of  their  courses 
of  study;  and  to  their  not  offering  their  pupils  more 
than  a  very  limited  amount  of  hard-to-be-digested 
knowledge,  or  rather  learning.  For  pure  knowl- 
edge is  always  power,  and  always  helpful;  but  learn- 
ing, so  called;  is  often  a  hindrance,  rather  than  a 
help,  to  individuals  and  peoples,  through  their  in- 

*Nor  were  these  suspensions  and  expulsions  simply  for  gross  immorality  or 
insubordination;  for  even  persistent  unfaithfulness  was  often  considered 
suflacient  ground  for  sending  a  pupil  home;  and  very  properly  so;  for  to  such 
pupils  school  work  is  not  a  help  but  an  injury. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  295 

ability  to  understand  or  digest  it,  and  thus  find  in  it 
the  knowledge  it  contains,  or  rather  is  meant  to 
suggest. 

A  TRUE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  EDUCATION. 

How  then,  says  some  one,  did  Mr.  Wheeler's  phi- 
losophy of  education  differ  from  that  of  the  Jesuits? 
The  answer  is  that  an  honest  Jesuit,  if  such  there  be, 
deliberately  keeps  men  in  ignorance,  or  else  teaches 
them  what  he  believes  to  be  false,  in  hopes  of  help- 
ing them;  while  Mr.  Wheeler  simply  insisted  strenu- 
ously that  young  and  inexperienced  minds  should 
be  fed  on  life's  simplest  and  most  vital  truths;  and 
not  on  those  more  complicated  and  less  vital  ones 
which  often  throw  even  well  trained  intellects  into 
hopeless  perplexity  and  confusion. 

Thus  while  the  Jesuits  say,  "Let  us  do  evil  that 
good  may  come;"  St.  Paul  and  his  enthusiastic  ad- 
mirer cry,  "We  feed  you  with  milk  and  not  with 
meat;  for  hitherto  ye  have  not  been  able  to  bear  it, 
neither  are  ye  now  able."  (I  Cor.  3:2  and  Heb.  5: 
12  to  14.) 

Or,  going  still  higher,  they  appeal  to  the  words  of 
Christ  himself,  who  said;  "I  have  yet  many  things 
to  say  unto  you,  but  ye  cannot  bear  them  now," 
(John  16:12.)  Surely  this  is  not  Jesuitism;  and  yet 
it  is  a  doctrine  for  the  saying  and  enforcing  of  which 
Dr.  Wheeler  has  been  condemned  oftener  perhaps 
than  for  any  other  one  opinion  he  ever  held,  many 
even  thinking  him  an  enemy  of  education. 


296  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Reasons  for  Founding  a  College. 

But  how  could  such  a  man  consistently  be  the 
founder  of  a  college?  This  question  may  be  easily 
answered,  if  we  take  a  glimpse  at  Mr.  Wheeler's 
inner  life;  for  there  the  explanation  lies. 

He  found  that  his  children  in  Christ  were  growing 
intellectually  much  faster  than  he  had  at  first  sup- 
posed possible;  in  fact  rather  faster  than  was  wholly 
natural  or  healthy;  and  when  he  found  that  they 
must  plunge  into  the  sea  of  modern  science  deeper 
and  sooner  than  he  had  expected,  he  said,  I  will  go 
with  them  to  help  them  in  facing  the  dangers  of  this 
great  deep  to  which  an  unforeseen  duty  calls  some, 
and  vanity  lures  others;  and  so  he  became  as  earnest 
in  helping  men  keep  their  mental  balance  in  study 
as  he  had  been  in  helping  them  to  conquer  stinginess. 

He  did  not  like  the  work  as  well',  he  knew  that  he 
could  not  do  it  as  well\  for  there  was  less  to  guide 
him  in  the  pages  of  life  and  history.  But  he  saw 
that  the  work  must  be  done;  and  that  he  could  do  it 
better  than  anyone  else  who  was  likely  to  offer;  and 
so  he  undertook  the  task,  laying  aside  once  for  all, 
his  lifelong  wish  to  go  once  more  to  "the  regions 
beyond,"  as  a  pioneer  in  purely  religious  work.  And 
God  blessed  him  in  this  great  sacrifice;  and  yet, 
almost  to  his  dying  day,  there  was  a  tinge  of  regret 
that  such  work  had  consumed  so  large  a  part  of  his 
time. 

But  saving  men  from  mental  shipwreck,  if  you  can 
do  it,  is  certainly  a  privilege  and  a  duty;  and  a 
Christian  college,  free  from  the  moral  risks  of  for- 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  297 

eign  travel,  and  from  the  vanity-engendering  influ- 
ences of  a  long  stay  in  a  city  as  worldly  and  as  far 
away  from  home  as  Constantinople,  was  the  remedy 
he  proposed  and  executed. 

And  did  he  succeed?  Not  wholly;  for  right  under 
his  own  eye  and  fatherly  influence  a  few  grew  skep- 
tical, and  others  grew  vain  and  puffed  up.  But 
when  we  see  how  many  young  nien  and  women,  and 
young  boys  and  girls  he  helped  turn  into  healthy 
channels  of  action,  thought  and  life,  then  his  success 
seems  most  cheering;  especially  as  the  school  he 
founded  still  lives  on,  and  is  sure  to  do  for  many 
years  to  come  the  same  kind  of  work  that  he  planned 
for  it. 

And  yet  I  am  sure  that  even  to  his  dying  day  his 
cry  would  have  been  and  was,  "Oh  do  not  go  into 
higher  education  so  called  till  you  have  laid  your 
religious  foundations  deep  and  strong,  and  learned 
how  to  prevent  your  school  work  from  simply  turn- 
ing out  infidels  and  conceited  fools.  For  life's  deep- 
est truths  are  all  very  simple;  and  these  are  the  ones 
that  men  need  to  know  first  of  all,  both  in  America 
and  on  mission  soil." 

Writes  Mr.  Wheeler  in  1871,  "Henceforth  we  shall 
need  less  money,  but  more  prayer;  for  this  finishing 
of  the  work  is  in  some  respects  even  more  perilous 
than  was  its  beginning.  For  no  one  not  in  actual 
contact  with  the  mass  of  minds  about  us  can  realize 
into  what  a  ferment  of  excitement  and  expectation 
the  gospel  has  thrown  them.  They  need,  wish, 
expect  and  demand  a  thousand  things  which  they 


298  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

cannot  have  now.  *  *  *  *  Yet  we  are  encour- 
aged by  the  reflection  that  these  things  must  needs 
be  in  such  a  work  of  awakening  and  reform  as  that 
which  is  here  going  on." 

And  it  did  not  take  him  long  to  see  that  the  prob- 
lems raised,  and  the  new  temptations  and  ambitions 
felt,  were  altogether  too  subtle  to  be  met  unaided 
by  the  local  churches,  without  recourse  to  the  church's 
treasure-house  of  history  and  science,  so  dangerous 
and  yet  so  essential,  when  once  a  soul  reaches  that 
age  of  restlessness  and  temporary  doubt  through 
which  all  strong  natures  must  pass,  sooner  or  later, 
in  their  way  to  perfect  manhood. 

GROWTH  OF  THE  COLLEGE. 

Hence  it  was  that  the  Normal  School  which  had 
been  started  in  1869  to  meet  the  growing  demand 
for  teachers  was  under  his  leadership  gradually  ex- 
panded, and  finally  united  with  the  "Female  Semi- 
nary" under  the  general  name  of  "Armenia  College," 
afterwards  changed  to  Euphrates  College,  the  first 
name  having  proved  displeasing  to  the  Turkish  gov- 
ernment. 

And,  under  his  general  leadership,  the  work  of 
expansion  gradually  went  on,  till  in  all  departments 
the  average  number  of  pupils  each  term  came  to 
number  between  five  and  six  hundred;  about  a  hun- 
dred in  the  college  departments  proper,  male  and 
female;  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  in  the  college 
high  schools,  male  and  female;  and  the  rest  in 
lower  grades;  most  of  those  in  the  higher  classes, 
and  many  of  those  even  lower  down,  being  picked 
boys  and  girls  from  all  over  the  Harpoot  field. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  299 

It  should  here  be  mentioned  that  over  the  Female 
Department,  the  president  claimed  no  authority, 
save  that  of  suggestion;  justly  feeling  that  the  Ameri- 
can ladies  in  charge  were  amply  competent  to  plan 
for  themselves,  after  hearing  what  the  station  had 
to  propose  and  suggest;  save  that  in  money  matters 
the  station  vote  was  naturally  supreme,  though  even 
here  "the  young  ladies"  and  the  missionaries'  wives 
seemed  generally  to  be  the  real  deciders  behind  the 
throne  —  one  of  the  earliest  memories  of  my  boy- 
hood being  the  markedly  respectful  and  frequent 
way  in  which  my  father  and  others  would  consult 
"the  ladies,"  while  we  children  sat  still  and  took  it 
all  in,  there  in  that  distant  Orient,  where  woman  is 
supposed  to  know  so  little. 

RAISING  AN  ENDOWMENT. 

Thus  it  was  that  in  1875  *^  became  evident  that  an 
endowment  should,  if  possible,  be  raised  for  the 
proper  carrying  on  of  the  work.  And  why?  Simply 
because  Mr.  Wheeler  and  his  associates  justly  felt 
that  money  given  for  general  missionary  work  should 
not  for  any  great  length  of  time  be  turned  off  into 
mere  educational  channels,  in  which  it  is  so  easy  to 
squander  thousands  and  thousands  of  dollars  with 
no  adequate  return. 

For,  said  he.  If  I  can  convince  those  who  have  to 
give  the  money  that  my  school  is  of  enough  impor- 
tance to  make  them  give  it  themselves,  why  then, 
well  and  good;  but  for  the  churches'  money  to  be 
turned  aside  into  costly  educational  ventures  by  a 
mere  vote  of  the  station,  mission,  or  even  of  the 


300  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Home  Board,  would  open  the  way  for  far  too  many 
costly  experiments,  and  too  many  relatively  un- 
profitable investments  of  the  Lord's  money. 

For  in  educational  work  failure  to  do  any  real  good 
( worth  speaking  of)  is  far  easier  than  in  general  mis- 
sionary work  from  house  to  house  or  town  to  town; 
even  though  the  results  of  educational  work  are 
more  tangible  and  showy  than  those  of  more  strictly 
religious  work. 

And  so  he  set  out  to  raise  the  money  by  a  direct 
appeal  to  individuals  and  churches,  telling  them 
plainly  that  he  wanted  only  what  they  could  give  in 
addition  to  their  regular  gifts  to  the  work  at  large. 
And  when  earnest  souls  in  America  found  how  care- 
fully the  work  had  been  planned,  and  how  far  each 
dollar  would  go,  and  how  much  the  school  was 
needed,  they  were  glad  to  give  what  he  asked;  though 
not  a  few  mean  and  stingy  Christians  had  also  to  be 
met  and  endured,  before  the  requisite  number  of 
generous  and  truly  Christian  ones  were  found. 

And  so  economically  was  it  all  planned  that 
;^4500.00  would  endow  a  full  professorship;  and 
$1500.00  to  S2500.00  a  principalship  in  any  one  of 
the  lower  schools;  while  assistant  teachers  in  the 
various  schools  cost  the  stockholders  only  the  year's 
interest  on  from  $700.00  to  $1700.00  a  year;  and  yet 
in  many  cases  these  were  good,  and  even  high  sala- 
ries for  the  Orient;  the  startling  originality  of  the 
plan  being  simply  that  he  saw  the  utter  folly  of  kill- 
ing the  deeper  life  of  his  college  by  paying  too  high 
salaries,  realizing  that  consecration  is  even-  more 
important  than  exceptional  ability,  though  both  are 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  301 

desirable,  and  were  abundantly  found  in  the  corps  of 
teachers  which  he  gathered  round  him  as  the  years 
went  by. 

But,  says  some  one,  why  have  any  endowment  at 
all? — Simply  because  he  saw  that  the  need  which  he 
was  trying  to  meet  was  one  which  would  go  on  in- 
creasing and  deepening  as  the  years  went  by;  and 
become  more  and  more  difficult  to  satisfy,  without 
some  central  school  of  learning,  with  which  to  start; 
even  as  in  the  history  of  our  own  country  Christian 
colleges,  when  not  managed  too  blunderingly,  have 
played  so  important  a  part  in  the  development  of 
our  civilization. 

And  here  too  let  us  notice  how  carefully  Mr. 
Wheeler  followed  up  donors  to  the  college;  not  be- 
cause he  wanted  more  money  from  most  of  them; 
but  because  he  felt  that  he  owed  to  them  and  the 
great  cause  of  missions  a  debt,  even  as  a  mercantile 
company  tries  to  pay  regular  dividends  to  its  stock- 
holders. 

Hence  was  it  that  so  many  of  them  loved  him  so 
warmly  and  so  personally;  for  not  only  did  he  for- 
get himself,  but  he  even  seemed  to  forget  his  college 
in  his  intense  zeal  for  the  Master's  work  at  large, 
and  for  the  souls  of  those  to  whom  he  was  talking 
or  writing. 

PRESSING  SELF-SUPPORT. 

While  Mr.  Wheeler  realized  that  schools  of  learn- 
ing of  the  higher  grade  must  have  endowments  to 
insure  their  permanence,  and  that  missionary  col- 
leges must  go  abroad  for  the  bulk  of  their  first  en- 


302  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

dowments,  (simply  taking  care  not  to  make  these 
any  larger  than  is  necessary  for  a  healthy  Begin- 
ning*) he  also  realized,  as  fully  as  ever,  the  need  of 
making  the  people  pay  something  for  their  educa- 
tional privileges  from  the  very  start;  knowing  that 
thus  only  could  he  keep  the  college  from  being 
flooded  with  a  host  of  lazy  loafers  or  self-seekers, 
and  make  its  alumni  grateful  enough  to  cheerfully 
add  to  its  endowment  later  on,  as  need  should 
arise. 

And  so  the  man  who  in  early  years  would  never 
address  a  crowd  who  would  not  give  attention  in 
return;  and  later  on  would  not  furnish  Sunday 
preaching  to  a  community  who  would  not  give  free 
barley  to  the  preacher's  donkey;  nor  a  free  school, 
for  any  length  of  lime,  to  a  community  who  would 
not  furnish  a  school  room  rent  free;  or  a  permanent 
preacher  to  those  who  would  not  help  pay  his  sal- 
ary; this  same  man  insisted  that  from  the  first  all 
pupils,  from  the  college  down  to  the  kindergarten, 
must  pay  something  in  cash,  work,  chickens  or  home- 
made socks,  as  an  evidence  of  their  appreciation  of 
the  costly  privileges  offered  them;||  to  this  the  only 
exceptions  being  cases  where  a  third  party  came  in 
to  pay  the  tuition  of  some  widow's  child,  or  some 
family    where    an    over-thoughtful    father    had    too 

*This  is  probably  the  chief  reason  why  he  afterwards  abandoned  the 
thought  of  having  a  law  and  medical  department  in  connection  with  the 
college,  both  of  which  were  a  part  of  his  original  plan. 

l|In  schools  conducted  by  the  native  brethren,  in  Harpoot  and  its  outsta- 
tions  a  small  tuition  fee  was  also  generally  asked  of  all  except  the  poorest, 
the  tuition  fee  actually  seeming  to  make  teachers,  scholars  and  school  com- 
mittee all  do  better  work  through  a  deeper  sense  of  the  need  of  doing  good 
work. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  303 

many  promising  chilren,  but  too  little  money. 
Though  even  in  such  cases  the  hand  of  charity 
brought  most  blessing,  and  least  harm,  where  the 
benefactors  treated  their  gifts  as  a  loan,  to  be  paid 
back  in  some  real,  though  simple  equivalent  of  work, 
such  as  mother  or  father  or  child  could  easily  pay, 
if  really  willing  to  do  so. 

And  furthermore  it  was  his  custom,  as  the  grades 
advanced,  and  the  lessons  taught  became  more  a 
luxury  and  less  a  necessity  (except  for  the  earnest 
and  thoughtful  few)  to  insist  more  and  more  strictly 
on  this  matter  of  self-support;  knowing  that  a  little 
education  is  helpful  to  almost  anyone,  if  given  with 
any  sort  of  discretion;  but  that  much  education  of 
the  booky  sort  can  be  safely  digested  only  by  earnest 
souls,  that  will  work  for  it  and  pay  for  it  heartily 
and  patiently:  so  that  the  tuition  grew  higher  and 
higher  as  the  grades  advanced,  and  was  less  often 
cut  in  two,  even  for  the  poor,  and  less  often  paid  by 
some  third  party.  Though  even  here  chances  to 
teach  school  somewhere,  or  sweep  or  chop  wood  or 
run  errands  or  do  extra  housework  were  carefully 
husbanded  for  those  most  in  need  of  encouragement 
and  help;  and  occasionally,  though  not  very  often, 
notes  were  taken  for  part  tuition  in  some  of  the 
higher  grades,  with  the  understanding  that  they 
were  to  be  paid  by  teaching  in  some  village  school 
in  the  course  of  two  or  three  years. 

And  likewise  in  the  boarding  department,  nearly 
all  the  scholars  were  expected  to  pay  their  own  ex- 
penses. Careful  arrangements  were  also  made  for 
some  to  board  themselves,  with  the  help  of  dried 


304  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

bread,  prepared  meat,  cheese,  wheat,  rice,  etc., 
brought  from  home  at  short  intervals,  "when  the 
folks  came  to  town;"  thus  enabling  many  a  boy  to 
live  almost  as  well,  or  almost  as  poorly,  as  he  would 
at  his  own  village  home,  and  still  enjoy  the  privi- 
leges of  a  city  school,  without  loss  of  his  self-re- 
liance. 

ARGUMENTS  IN  FAVOR  OF  FREE  SCHOOLS. 

"But,"  say  some  critics,  "free  schools  in  America 
have  not  harmed  our  people;  why  then  should  not 
missionary  schools  also  be  free;  as  ours  are  in 
America?"  Simply  because  our  American  schools 
are  not  really  free;  for  by  taxes  already  paid  by  his 
relatives,  or  by  taxes  which  he  himself  expects  to 
pay  "when  he  gets  rich,"  every  enterprising  scholar 
in  our  American  schools  manages  to  save  and  deepen 
his  sense  of  self-respect  and  self-reliance. 

And  even  our  richest  colleges  and  universities, 
which  are  very  properly  partly  free,  are  obliged  in 
sheer  self-defence  to  charge  tuition,  and  make  en- 
trance and  promotion  dif^cult;  for  the  sake  of  keep- 
ing out  as  far  as  possible,  ambitious  but  ungrateful 
and  unpromising  loafers. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  benefits  of  such  sifting,  we 
may  mention  the  fact  that  the  college  preparatory 
department  at  Harpoot,  though  charging  more  than 
other  rival  schools  of  the  same  nominal  grade,  did 
nevertheless  draw  a  more  promising  class  of  boys 
and  girls,  both  poor  and  well  to  do,  than  any  of 
these  rival  schools;  and  generally  larger  numbers  as 
well. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  305 

The  College  Printing  Press. 

Here  too  we  may  fittingly  speak  of  the  printing 
press,  given  by  friends  in  America,  which  helped  in 
so  many  ways  in  the  early  years  of  the  college. 
First,  as  a  help  to  self-supporting  students;  second, 
as  a  help  in  greatly  reducing  the  cost  of  some  much 
needed  text  books;  and  thirdly,  as  a  very  marked 
source  of  inspiration  and  quickening  to  many  who 
heard  of  it  and  saw  it.  But  although,  under  Mr. 
Wheeler's  shrewd  management,  the  press  was  a  help 
and  a  source  of  some  added  revenue,  it  may  be 
doubted  whether  in  most  mission  stations  such  a 
venture  would  be  a  wise  one,  unless  other  printing 
presses  are'whoUy  inaccessible;  as  it  would  be  apt 
to  swallow  up  altogether  too  much  precious  mission- 
ary time;  and  also  become  a  source  of  financial  loss 
to  the  mission,  rather  than  of  revenue;  both  of 
which  evils  Mr.  Wheeler  escaped  only  by  exception- 
al quickness  in  such  work,  and  by  a  native  business 
tact  in  which  even  first  class  missionaries  are  quite 
often  lacking,  the  power  to  earn  money  and  the 
power  to  earn  men  not  always  going  together. 

But  at  last  this  press  came  to  an  untimely  stillness, 
the  government  having  taken  offense  at  it  and  sealed 
it  up,  besides  imposing  a  fine  of  S250.00  on  Mr. 
Wheeler  for  running  it  without  formal  legal  authori- 
zation, which  would  not  have  been  given,  even  if 
asked.  But  even  after  paying  this  fine,  so  unjust 
and  so  exorbitant  for  an  Oriental  country,  the  press 
fund  still  had  a  neat  little  sum  left  to  help  in  build- 
ing a  new  and  enlarged  female   seminary  in   1882; 

(20) 


3o6  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

and  waits  once  more  for  a  chance  to  speak  again  in 
its  own  native  tongue  of  paper  and  ink;  for  strange 
to  say,  even  the  massacre,  which  destroyed  so 
much,  happened  to  leave  the  press  uninjured. 

WAYS  OF  DEVELOPING  CHARACTER. 

But  these  studies  in  self-reliance,  and  the  best 
ways  of  developing  it,  where  it  does  not  exist,  and 
of  preserving  it  where  it  does,  lead  on  naturally  to 
still  higher  problems;  for  the  question  comes  up. 
How  can  we  most  effectually  strengthen  a  student's 
hold  on  those  deepest  truths  of  life,  love  to  God  and 
active  love  to  men,  without  which  education  will  be 
only  a  drag  on  his  real  success  and  happiness  in  life? 

To  the  proper  answering  of  this  question  Mr. 
Wheeler  devoted  some  of  his  most  earnest  thought 
and  most  painstaking  toil;  finding  in  it  some  of  the 
sweetest  results  of  all  his  labors;  and  yet,  as  the 
years  went  by,  he  became  more  and  more  keenly 
conscious  that  he  had  not  succeeded  in  solving  the 
problem  as  fully  as  he  had  hoped  to  do,  or  rather 
wanted  to  do.  Let  us  then  notice  closely  just  what 
he  did  do,  and  what  he  did  not,  and  what  the  results 
were;  for  the  problem  is  a  most  important  one,  and 
one  on  which  even  his  most  unfinished  thoughts  and 
plans  will  throw  much  light. 

PRAYING  FOR  THEM  ONE  BY  ONE. 

We  find  then  deepest  of  all,  a  habit  of  often  pray- 
ing by  name  for  the  school,  and  for  individual 
teachers  and  pupils;  not  as  if  he  were  coaxing  God 
for  some  unwilling  gift,  but  rather  as  if  he  were  sim- 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  307 

ply  expressing  his  trust  in  God,  and  asking  for 
blessings  already  ofiered  conditionally,  and  also  ask- 
ing God  to  help  him  in  doing  his  part  more  faith- 
fully and  skilfully;  and  thus  it  was  that  his  prayers 
brought  him  very  near  to  those  he  prayed  for; 
though  even  he  was  wise  enough  not  to  pray  for 
everyone.  For,  some  he  felt  that  he  could  not 
help,  at  least  not  in  any  special  way;  and  knew  it 
was  not  wrong  to  leave  them  wholly  to  God,  who 
could  understand  and  help  them,  even  if  he  could  not. 

THE  PERSONAL   INFLUENCE   OF  EACH  TEACHER. 

Then,  secondly,  he  attached  great  importance  to 
the  personal  influence  of  his  teachers,  as  a  help  in 
winning  the  pupils  to  Christ  and  to  a  Christly  life; 
and  here  he  was  greatly  blessed;  for  generally  the 
personal  influence  of  his  teachers  was  most  uplifting 
and  godly,  not  only  in  a  general,  negative  way,  but 
in  a  very  positive  one.  Though  in  his  wish  not  to 
seem  uncharitable  or  harsh  he  did  occasionally  tol- 
erategrossunfaithfulness  in  some  of  his  helpers, which 
for  a  while  cost  him  and  the  school  very  dear.  For 
such  things  are  strangely  contagious.  And  yet,  if 
I  were  to  sum  up  in  a  single  sentence  the  cause  of 
the  success  of  this  school,  it  would  be,  Because  of 
the  personal  character  of  the  men  who  were  at  the 
helm,  from  the  president  way  down  to  the  youngest 
assistant  teacher.  For  a  true  man,  full  to  overflow- 
ing of  trueness,  may  make  mistakes,  even  pretty 
serious  ones,  and  still  retain  his  steady  power  to  up- 
lift and  truly  educate  those  who  fall  under  his  influ- 
ence; while  a  less  true  man  loses  his  influence  by 
mistakes  that  are  seemingly  very  trifling. 


3o8  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Bible  Classes;  and  How  to  Make  Them 
Interesting. 

Thirdly,  he  attached  great  importance  to  Sunday 
Schools  under  the  lead  of  some  of  his  most  earnest 
and  skilful  teachers;  and  to  daily  Bible  lessons, 
during  the  week,  in  all  grades,  from  the  highest  to 
the  lowest;  and  the  good  results  of  these  many  Bible 
classes,  under  many  different  teachers,  were  marked 
and  interesting;  for  most  of  the  scholars  came  to 
feel  that  religion  and  morals  were  of  course  matters 
for  daily  thought  and  study;  just  as  we  daily  eat 
nearly  the  same  kinds  of  body  food  for  thirty,  forty, 
seventy  years,  and  with  almost  unceasing  relish,  if 
we  do  it  properly. 

But  pray  how  did  his  best  teachers  keep  these 
numerous  Bible  classes,  coming  as  they  did  every 
day  through  the  whole  course,  from  becoming  ex- 
ceedingly monotonous  and  dull?  By  simply  letting 
them  become  starting  points  for  homely,  informal 
conversations,  back  and  forth,  on  any  and  every 
subject  which  could  throw  light  on  how  to  make  life 
better  and  truer  at  any  point  where  men  are  ever 
tempted  or  perplexed;  provided  the  temptation  was 
one  that  was  likely  to  come  to  those  there  assem- 
bled; and  provided  any  one  there  present  could 
really  throw  some  light  upon  it.  —  Thus  did  the 
classes  often  become  exceedingly  helpful;  and  two 
teachers  might  take  up  exactly  the  same  book,  in 
Old  Testament  or  in  New,  and  still  draw  from  it  les- 
sons as  varied  as  were  the  tastes  and  circumstances 
of  their  lives,  and  of  the  boys  and  young  men  be- 
fore them. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  309 

Helping  Pupils  One  by  One. 

But,  while  we  can  speak  highly  of  these  daily 
Bible  classes,  and  of  the  good  they  did,  we  feel  com- 
pelled to  point  out  one  serious  defect,  or  rather  in- 
completeness in  Mr.  Wheeler's  estimate  of  these 
classes  and  of  the  work  they  could  do.  He  did  not 
clearly  enough  recognize  the  fact  that  a  man  or  boy 
may  be  truly  convinced  of  many  important  truths, 
and  really  try  to  live  up  to  them,  and  still  make  a  sad 
failure  of  it  all;  and  so  he  did  not  plan  to  help  the 
boys  in  overcoming  secret  faults  as  systematically 
as  he  should  have  done. 

But  how  could  this  defect  have  been  remedied? 
We  believe  that  the  most  effective  remedy  would 
have  been  to  expect  each  pupil  to  report  at  frequent 
intervals  privately  to  some  experienced  and  sympa- 
thetic teacher,  a  few  typical  successes  taken  from 
his  own  daily  life,  and  also  any  failures  about  which 
he  might  feel  the  need  of  special  advice.  Thus 
would  the  missing  link  of  personal  hand  to  hand 
contact  of  individual  souls  have  been  more  fully  sup- 
plied; for  public,  class-room  advice  and  sympathy 
however  wise  can  never  take  the  place  of  a  word  of 
advice  or  cheer  fitly  spoken,  where  none  but  God 
can  hear. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  and  shall  see  again  later 
on,  Mr.  Wheeler  himself  was  remarkably  skilful  and 
earnest  in  just  such  personal  work  as  this;  and  I  hap- 
pen to  know  that  some  of  his  leading  teachers  were 
also  skilful  and  earnest  in  the  same  kind  of  work; 
but  such  talks  were  only  occasional,  accidental  and 


310  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

generally  too  long,  whereas  they  had  better  have 
been  quite  frequent y  regularly  expected  and  generally 
very  short;  for  then  would  they  have  taken  a  deeper 
and  surer  hold,  through  resembling  more  closely 
that  which  is  deepest  and  most  effective  in  the  up- 
lifting contact  of  father  and  child. 

RELYING  TOO  MUCH  ON  MERE  BELIEF. 

Here  too  is  the  proper  place  to  speak  briefly  of 
one  other  slight  but  real  defect  in  Mr.  Wheeler's 
way  of  teaching;  he  relied  a  little  too  much  on  mere 
belief;  by  which  we  mean  "an  acceptance  of  some 
statement  or  opinion  simply  or  chiefly  on  the  testi- 
mony of  some  one  else." 

Now  that  earth's  noblest  and  most  clear-seeing 
minds  are  always  willing  to  accept  things  thus  on 
mere  belief,  no  close  observer  can  long  doubt;  but 
we  also  find  that  such  minds  are  ever  busy  confirm- 
ing and  correcting  these  beliefs  by  a  persistent  and 
careful  use  of  their  own  sifting  and  observing  powers, 
mindful  that  even  the  teachings  of  Scripture  may  be 
misunderstood  and  misapplied,  through  some  slip 
in  the  hearer's  own  mind. 

Hence  Mr.  Wheeler  himself  was  a  most  persistent 
though  silent  critic  of  the  theologies  of  the  past, 
that  he  might  thus  come  nearer  to  the  grand,  central 
truths  to  which  they  all  point  more  or  less  accu- 
rately. But  as  a  teacher  he  was  so  haunted  with  the 
fear  of  infidelity  and  rationalism*  that  he  was  always 
a  little  inclined  to  repress  free  thought  on  some 
themes,  even  when  there  was  no  tendency  to  conceit 

*An  excessive  reliance  on  mere  blind  logic  or  inference. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  311 

or  recklessness  or  guess-work  to  justify  such  re- 
pression.—  Hence  some  who  might  have  been  won 
and  convinced  were  not;  and  worse  still,  some  of  his 
pupils  and  some  of  the  mission's  best  churches  were 
a  little  too  easily  misled,  when  later  on  honest  but 
short-sighted  zealots  turned  up  with  some  new  doc- 
trine which  seemed  to  have  almost  as  good  Scrip- 
ture authority  (logically)  as  the  ones  which  Mr. 
Wheeler  himself  had  taught;  though  not  anywhere 
near  as  full  of  the  pith  of  Christian  helpfulness  and 
Christian  power. 

A  CURE  FOR  RATIONALISM. 

But  fortunately  even  here  his  pupils  could  see 
that  the  man  who  was  afraid  to  let  them  inquire 
quite  as  freely  as  was  natural  and  best,  had  never- 
theless himself  carefully  proved  or  tested  many 
things;  and  generally  held  fast  only  that  which  was 
best,  (I  Thess.  5:21;)  and  so  his  Bible  classes  be- 
came a  center  for  free  but  chastened  thought,  such 
as  always  makes  men  stronger  and  truer,  in  spite  of 
any  incidental  defects  which  there  may  be  in  its 
make  up,  when  judged  in  the  light  of  some  still 
higher  and  completer  thought,  to  which  this  thought 
itself  has  given  birth,  inspiration  and  tone. 

For  in  spite  of  an  occasional  slight  dogmatism 
(born  of  an  incompleted  insight  and  of  fear  for  those 
he  loved)  he  did  really  grasp  the  deepest  of  all  anti- 
dotes to  doubt  and  rationalism,  namely  a  genuine 
love  of  truth  and  a  refusal  to  knowingly  follow  up 
any  train  of  thought  or  discussion  for  one  single 
moment,  when  for  any  reason,  known  or  unknown, 


312  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

that  thought  or  discussion  ceased  to  be  he  helpful 
and  uplifting  in  its  effects  on  himself  and  on  his 
hearers. 

SHOULD  ATTENDANCE  AT  PRAYER  MEETINGS 
BE  COMPULSORY. 

And,  lastly  he  attached  great  value  in  the  uplift- 
ing of  his  school  to  that  old-fashioned  but  ever  reju- 
venating institution,  the  prayer  meeting;  though  he 
probably  erred  in  making  attendance  at  one  prayer 
meeting  a  week  compulsory.  For  prayer  meetings 
are  very  different  from  simple,  brief  and  earnest 
morning  prayers;  or  a  lively  class  room  discussion  on 
Bible  themes;  and  are  more  apt  to  repel  the  uninter- 
ested when  made  compulsory.  And  even  among 
earnest  Christians,  there  seem  to  be  some  who  pre- 
fer less  public  ways  of  exchanging  Christian  thought 
and  uniting  in  Christian  prayer;  so  that  to  these  also 
an  average  prayer  meeting  is  a  weariness,  rather  than 
a  help. 

So  that  while  the  prayer  meeting  is  steadily  be- 
coming more  and  more  helpful  to  one  class  of  Chris- 
tians; it  is  for  another  class  being  slowly  displaced 
by  more  private  meetings,  at  home  and  elsewhere, 
wherever  men  may  meet  to  talk  with  God.  But 
this  fact  Mr.  Wheeler  was  loth  to  admit,  having  him- 
self found  public  prayer-meetings  a  source  of  great 
inspiration  and  blessing,  all  through  his  life.  Hence 
his  insistence  on  attendance  at  the  weekly  prayer- 
meeting,  of  which  we  have  spoken;  though  the 
prayer-meeting  which  he  most  loved  was  naturally 
one  in  his  own  home  at  which  attendance  was  wholly 
voluntary. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  313 

Though  we  are  also  inch'ned  to  think  that  a  more 
careful  and  systematic  following  out  of  the  sugges- 
tions given  on  pages  309  to  311  would  have  ulti- 
mately so  quickened  and  vitalized  the  prayer-meet- 
ings as  to  make  voluntary  attendance  almost  uni- 
versal. 

COLLEGE  DISCIPLINE  AND  CHOICE  OF  TRUSTEES. 

But  passing  on  we  come  to  yet  other  matters  of 
importance  to  which  we  must  refer,  and  among  them 
that  of  college  control,  or  the  question  who  shall 
control  a  missionary  college,  endowed  by  funds  from 
abroad. 

Mr.  Wheeler's  conviction  that  it  should  not  be 
controlled  by  its  students,  he  showed  clearly  enough 
when  he  once  firmly  refused  to  remove  a  sentence 
of  indefinite  suspension  from  the  unrepentant  class 
of  1891,  when  that  class  refused  to  take  a  certain 
study,  instead  of  respectfully  referring  their  griev- 
ances to  the  president  and  faculty  for  investigation 
and  adjudication. 

But,  going  a  step  farther,  beyond  this  rather  obvi- 
ous law  of  discipline,  he  also  believed  that  in  the 
larger  outlines  of  its  work,  and  especially  in  money 
matters,  such  a  college  should  be  under  the  control 
of  a  board  of  trustees  in  America,  with  the  local 
missionaries  as  their  representatives,  instead  of  be- 
ing controlled  by  representatives  of  a  people  who 
had  as  yet  done  very  little  toward  paying  the  ex- 
penses of  the  institution  (i.  e.  raising  its  endow- 
ment) and,  furthermore,  could  not  be  expected  to 
be   as   cautious  or  as  much  under  the  restraint  of 


314  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

powerful  precedents  as  American  trustees  would  be. 
Though  even  here  he  was  far-sighted  enough  to  see 
that  even  Americans,  when  long  resident  in  the  Ori- 
ent, do  inevitably  lose  some  of  their  Yankee  firmness, 
and  so  arranged  that  no  final  decision  in  money  mat- 
ters could  ever  be  made  except  by  the  board  of 
trustees  in  America;  though  even  they  were  not  free 
to  act  on  matters  of  salaries,  grants,  etc,,  without  a 
recommendation  from  the  local  missionary  trustees 
to  start  with;  each  of  these  two  bodies  thus  restrain- 
ing the  other  from  a  too  free  or  imprudent  expen- 
diture of  college  funds. 

Surely  this  was  better  than  that  morbid  wish  not 
to  seem  too  strict  which  sacrifices  thousands  of  dol- 
lars of  the  churches'  money  to  unrestrained  Oriental 
ambition,  for  fear  that  they  will  think  that  we  con- 
sider ourselves  wiser  than  they. 

Yet  he  was  careful  to  arrange  that  so  soon  as 
Oriental  Christians  began  to  really  contribute  at  all 
largely  to  the  college  endowment,  they  should  be- 
gin to  have  a  proportionate  hand  in  its  government; 
for  then  he  believed  that  they  would  more  freely 
realize  the  need  of  caution  in  expending  the  money 
left  to  their  care. 

But  in  those  cases  where  Oriental  trusteeship  has 
worked  disaster,  sometimes  more  and  sometimes 
less,  no  such  restriction  has  I  believe  ever  existed. 

LESSONS  IN  ENERGY  AND  ACCURACY. 

Another  important  help  in  developing  character 
and  making  the  college  what  it  was,  was  the  example 
of  energy  and  general  accuracy  in  essentials,  set  be- 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  315 

fore  the  students  by  their  president;  and  also  the  in- 
formal tests  of  intelligence  to  which  he  ever  and 
anon  subjected  them.  For  he  loved  to  fall  in  on 
them  unawares  and  give  them  hard  questions  to  test 
their  quickness  and  insight,  rather  than  rely  simply 
on  formal,  routine  examinations,  in  which  a  good 
but  dull  memory  often  counts  for  even  more  than 
insight  and  real  knowledge. 

For  he  felt  that,  without  the  power  to  use  one's 
wits,  mere  increase  of  learning  would  only  dull  the 
mind,  or  else  upset  it;  and  that  it  was  better  that 
they  should  spend  their  time  in  doing  easy  but  im- 
portant things  well,  rather  than  in  doing  more  showy 
and  learned  things  poorly,  or  in  a  merely  routine  way. 

And  yet,  in  common  with  many  other  great  men, 
Mr,  Wheeler  did  not  properly  realize  how  much  of 
his  own  general  accuracy  and  grasp  had  been  de- 
veloped, or  rather  matured  and  brought  into  full 
play,  only  by  years  of  intensely  close  and  systematic 
effort  on  matters  of  detail,  seemingly  of  little  prac- 
tical importance;  hence  he  did  not  lay  sufficient 
emphasis  on  compelling  the  students  to  be  syste- 
matic in  their  lessons  in  accuracy  and  insight;  allow- 
ing the  promotions  from  grade  to  grade  to  depend 
far  too  often  on  mere  memory  work,  regardless  of 
real  insight. 

Hence  the  passion  for  genuine  accuracy  and  in- 
sight, which  was  often  quite  marked  among  the 
lower  grades,  tended  lo  gradually  decrease  as  the 
grades  advanced;  a  mere  blind  passion  for  learning 
too  often  taking  its  place;  though  to  the  very  last 


3i6  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Mr.  Wheeler's  early  lessons  and  powerful  personality, 
and  frequent  stirrings  up  tended  to  greatly  lessen, 
and  in  individual  cases,  almost  wholly  eliminate  this 
unfortunate  tendency. 

EXPERIMENTS   IN   INDUSTRIAL  EDUCATION. 

Here  too  mention  should  be  made  of  an  interest- 
ing experiment  in  industrial  education  made,  under 
Mr.  Wheeler's  direction,  by  some  of  his  assistant 
teachers.  It  was  to  get  the  boys  in  the  lower  grades 
to  bring  once  a  week  any  article  in  clay,  wood,  tin, 
paper,  etc.,  which  they  had  made  during  the  previ- 
ous week,  with  the  understanding  that  at  the  close 
of  each  term  simple  prizes  would  be  given  to  those 
whose  collection  of  articles  showed  the  most  skill 
and  industry,  or  the  most  improvement;  and  exceed- 
ingly interesting  was  the  native  talent  brought  to 
light,  and  the  steady  growth  in  skill  and  enterprise 
and  wide-awakeness  shown  by  each  successive  week's 
collection  of  articles,  any  article  which  could  not  be 
brought  to  school  being  simply  reported  publicly, 
and  then  entered  on  a  book  for  use  in  the  final  award 
of  prizes. 

LESSONS  IN  THINKING. 

And  in  like  manner  the  best  of  each  boy's  boyish 
thoughts  and  observations,  on  boyish  themes,  were 
brought  and  read  aloud  in  the  class  room,  for  criti- 
cism and  respectful  discussion;  and  then  some  of 
the  best  of  each  boy's  thoughts  were  selected  by  the 
teacher,  and  copied  and  signed  by  the  boy  himself 
in  a  little  book  for  circulation  among  the  other  boys; 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  317 

that  thus  their  eyes  and  ears  might  be  more  open  to 
notice  and  study  more  closely  the  things  of  interest 
which  they  had  seen  and  heard;  for  the  things  which 
a  boy  has  observed  or  thought  out  for  himself  mean 
to  him  a  thousand-fold  more  at  first  than  the  vaster 
and  higher  thoughts  of  which  his  books  are  full;  and 
will  in  time  prepare  him  to  appreciate  the  book 
thoughts  as  well. 

And  we  cannot  but  think  that  this  sort  of  work 
systematically  encouraged,  in  its  most  simple  and 
childish  but  healthy  form,  would  arouse  even  in  the 
school  boys  of  China  an  interest  in  school  work  to 
which  most  of  them  seem  as  yet  to  be  strangers,  ex- 
cept when  roused  by  political  ambition.* 

Thus,  without  any  costly  ventures  in  manufactur- 
ing, the  boys'  individual  tastes  both  mechanical,  ar- 
tistic and  literary,  were  slowly  developed  and  dis- 
covered||  under  the  inspiring  thrill  of  a  friendly  com- 
petition, in  which  every  boy  in  school  had  some  part 
of  his  own  choosing,  suggested  either  by  his  own 
wits  or  the  example  of  others  around  him. 


*For  in  1898  our  four  Chinese  missions  with  12756  reported  adherents  and 
44og  church  members  had  nevertheless  only  2255  boys  and  girls  in  their  147 
schools  (common,  boarding  and  high);  or  twice  as  many  church  members 
and  live  times  as  many  adherents  as  they  have  children  in  their  schools. 
Surely  a  strange  picture  ot  Chinese  lethargy;  and  a  good  chance  to  try  Yan- 
kee thinking  lessons  such  as  we  have  suggested  above.  Will  not  some  of  our 
Chinese  missionaries  kindly  try  them  and  let  us  know  how  they  work? 

||ln  most  cases  a  pupil's  tastes  have  to  be  patiently  developed,  like  sprout- 
ing seeds,  long  before  either  he  or  his  teacher  are  conscious  of  their  pres- 
ence, or  able  to  give  them  a  name.  Hence  is  it  that  the  most  important  part 
of  the  developing  of  a  faculty  often  comes  before  its  discovery. 


3i8  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

A  New  Way  of  Awarding  Prizes. 

It  is  also  pleasant  to  see  how  the  prizes  were  given 
in  these  industrial  and  literary  competitions.  The 
first  three  or  four  prizes  were  in  money,  contributed 
by  the  various  teachers;  the  rest  in  beautiful  picture 
cards  of  many  different  shapes  and  sizes  and  grades; 
the  rule  being  that  each  boy  who  deserved  any  praise 
at  all  should  have  a  card,  but  that  those  highest  in 
rank  must  have  first  ciioice,  while  the  whole  school 
school  looked  on  with  keen  interest  to  see  whose 
name  would  be  called  next  and  what  he  would 
choose. 

Thus  every  boy  in  school,  with  but  four  or  five  ex- 
ceptions, out  of  some  one  hundred  and  twenty  boys, 
got  some  praise,  though  very  properly  the  largest 
and  brightest  pictures,  which  were  all  put  at  one  end, 
fell  to  the  most  industrious  and  the  next  best,  to  the 
next  best  group  and  so  on;  and  it  was  very  evident 
that  the  fiftieth  prize  was  as  real  a  help  to  its  owner 
as  the  first;  for  it  reminded  him  pleasantly  of  the 
fact  that  he  was  not  seventieth,  and  rather  exasper- 
atingly  of  the  fact  that  he  was  not  fortieth;  though 
he  might  be  a  boy  who  would  never  dream  of  being 
first  or  second  or  tenth  in  the  class,  and  so  would 
not  be  helped  at  all  by  an  offer  of  prizes  for  only 
the  best  two  or  three  scholars  in  the  class. 

PROPER  LIMITS  OF  INDUSTRIAL  EDUCATION. 

In  this  little  experiment  we  also  find  several  charac- 
teristics of  all  the  various  experiments  at  industrial 
improvement  which  Messrs.  Wheeler  and  Allen  made 
from  time  to  time  in  the  course  of  their  missionary 
life  in  Turkey. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  319 

First,  the  experiments  were  not  made  with  the 
Board's  money,  which  no  missionary  has  any  right 
to  risk  for  a  single  moment  in  such  work.  Secondly, 
they  involved  no  serious  risk  to  the  missionary  him- 
self; for  they  were  inexpensive  experiments,  or  else 
paid  for  in  advance  by  some  enterprising  Oriental 
who  could  afford  to  risk  the  money;  and  thirdly, 
they  were  nearly  all  simple  attempts  to  improve 
slightly  on  existing  industries,  instead  of  trying  to 
introduce  wholly  new  ones.  While  last,  but  not 
least,  they  involved  very  little  expenditure  of  mis- 
sionary time  or  strength. 

Surely,  within  such  limits,  industrial  experiments 
in  tomatoes,  sweet  corn,  potatoes,  plows,  threshing 
machines,  fanning  mills,  church  lamps,  church  trum- 
pets, (to  call  men  to  church,)  church  bells  of  very 
small  size,  communion  sets,  cabinet  organs,  etc.,  are 
all  proper  and  helpful;  and  only  rest  the  weary  mis- 
sionary and  edify  his  people;  the  trouble  with  indus- 
trial ventures  generally  being,  first,  that  they  are 
apt  to  be  too  costly  a  way  of  doing  good,  even  when 
successful;  and,  secondly,  that  they  involve  financial 
risks  of  failure  so  large,  relatively,  that  no  mission, 
or  board,  or  missionary  has  any  right  to  invest  in 
them  the  churches'  money,  unless  it  was  specially 
given  with  that  end  in  view  by  the  original  donors. 

But  fortunately  men  who  could  wisely  run  an  in- 
dustrial school  on  any  large  scale  are  generally  men 
who  can  interest  other  business  men  in  their  plans, 
and  thus  get  the  money  they  need;  and  yet  such  in- 
dependent ventures  are  always  exceptionally  risky, 
and  should  not  be  encouraged,  unless  their  founders 


320  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

give  very  indubitable  evidence  of  not  being  mere 
long-tongued  enthusiasts. 

THE  CHILDREN'S  CORNER. 

But  in  a  study  of  Mr.  Wheeler's  work  as  an  edu- 
cator the  question  inevitably  thrusts  itself  to  the 
front,  Why  did  he  pin  a  kindergarten  and  primary 
grade  onto  a  college? 

To  this  question  I  have  never  heard  Mr.  Wheeler 
give  any  definite  answer;  and  I  seriously  doubt 
whether  he  himself  ever  clearly  knew  just  why  he 
did  it;  save  that  a  clear  but  unaccountable  sense  of 
duty  evidently  led  him  into  doing  it.  While  an  in- 
tense love  for  children  similar  to  that  which  our 
Lord  seems  to  have  felt,  made  the  work  exceedingly 
pleasant;  and  I  believe  he  also  dimly  realized  that 
some  of  the  deeper  problems  of  healthy  missionary 
education  could  be  worked  out  successfully  only  in 
these  lower  grades;  and  that  he  and  his  corps  of 
teachers  needed  the  constant,  restraining,  eye-open- 
ing, naturalizing  and  softening  influence  of  close  and 
sympathetic  contact  with  a  large  body  of  children. 
And  it  was  exceedingly  pleasant  to  see  how  in  his 
own  life  these  lower  grades  did  gradually  draw  out 
and  perfect  the  softer  elements  of  his  character; 
elements  which  in  strong  and  aggressive  natures  are 
apt  to  get  dulled  by  constant  leadership  of  large 
masses  of  adult  minds. 

For,  dividing  his  life  roughly  into  two  parts,  we 
may  say  that  the  first  half  he  was  primarily  a  leader 
and  moulder  of  large  masses  of  mind,  while  in  the 
latter  half  the  close  and  prolonged  study  and  dis- 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  321 

cipline  of  single  minds  was  the  more  prominent  fea- 
ture; thus  making  his  leadership  more  complete, 
and  his  policy  a  more  symmetrical  whole,  and  better 
suited  for  others  to  copy  and  understand. 

For  in  years  gone  by  many  had  supposed  that 
like  the  Spartans  of  old  he  cared  but  little  for  the 
individual,  and  thought  only  of  the  church  and  state, 
or  some  abstract  ideal  of  self-support;  and  so  they 
were  inclined  to  discount  this  ideal.  But  when 
they  found  how  patiently  and  skilfully  he  could 
work  for  individuals  as  well,  individuals  who  were 
soon  to  scatter  far  and  wide,  then  this  tyrant,  this 
giant,  this  worshiper  of  self-support,  came  to  be  seen 
in  a  truer  light  and  mtn  began  to  be  less  afraid  of 
his  larger  ideals.  And  so  both  parts  of  this  busy 
life  contributed  equally  to  the  furthering  of  Christ's 
kingdom,  and  of  the  ideals  for  which  Mr.  Wheeler 
had  striven  so  long. 

And  when  the  gathering  in  shall  come,  we  believe 
that  the  seed  which  was  cast  upon  the  waters  in 
these  later  years  will  be  found  to  have  brought  forth 
just  as  abundant  a  harvest  as  the  more  tangible  re- 
sults of  earlier  years;  for  in  both  he  displayed  won- 
derful wisdom  and  insight,  though  his  natural  tastes 
enabled  him  to  make  a  more  complete  success  in 
the  first  than  in  the  second;  for  men's  thought-life  is 
a  more  baffling  field  of  culture  than  is  that  less  com- 
plex social  life  which  we  now  call  the  church. 

THE  TEACHING  OF  ENGLISH. 

Another  question  on  which  there  has  been  much 
dispute  is  as  to  whether  English  should  be  taught  at 
(21) 


322  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

all  in  mission  schools?  and  if  so,  how  soon?  and  how 
extensively?  But  so  far  as  I  know,  no  one,  not  even 
Dr.  Anderson,  has  ever  claimed  that  a  time  would 
never  come  when  it  could  be  properly  taught;  and 
so  the  question  narrows  itself  down  to  two,  namely: 
How  soon  shall  English  be  taught?  and  how  exten- 
sively? 

As  to  the  first  of  these  questions,  (How  soon?) 
Mr.  Wheeler,  in  common  with  Dr.  Anderson,  was  of 
the  opinion  that  much  harm  had  been  done  in  the 
various  missions  of  the  Board  by  introducing  English 
too  soon;  and  thus  rousing  great  political  and  finan- 
cial ambitions  before  the  religious  tone  of  the  com- 
munity was  strong  enough  to  prevent  such  ambi- 
tions from  working  needless  disaster  to  individuals, 
and  a  great  scarcity  of  wide-awake  religious  leaders 
for  the  community. 

Hence  in  all  the  earlier  years  of  his  missionary 
life  he  was  a  persistent  opponent  of  the  teaching  of 
English  in  mission  schools  in  Turkey. 

But  when  at  last  the  religious  work  was  well  estab- 
lished, and  he  found  himself  surrounded  by  a  goodly 
number  of  vigorous,  earnest  churches,  and  saw  the 
community  well  impregnated  with  Christian  senti- 
ment and  Christian  ideals,  then  he  consented  to 
gratify  the  natural  though  dangerous  craving  for 
English,  which  till  then  he  had  firmly  resisted  and 
postponed  as  something  untimely  and  premature. 
Though  even  in  later  years  he  was  sometimes  tempt- 
ed to  feel  that  he  had  acted  too  hastily  and  yielded 
too  much;  though  probably  the  real  trouble  was  not 
that  he  had  introduced    the    study  of  English  too 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  323 

soon  or  too  extensively,  but  only  that  the  net-work 
of  moral  safeguards  with  which  he  surrounded  each 
pupil's  life  had  not  been  quite  complete  and  varied 
enough. 

But,  if,  after  so  many  years  of  purely  gospel  work 
and  gospel  success,  the  introduction  of  English  well 
nigh  turned  the  heads  of  the  whole  community, 
pray  what  would  it  have  done  if  introduced  earlier? 
It  would  have  well  nigh  blighted  the  spiritual  work 
which  it  was  meant  to  strengthen.  —  So  at  least 
claimed  Mr.  Wheeler;  and  pointed,  with  rather  con- 
vincing directness,  to  the  very  small  spiritual  har- 
vest in  many  another  field  where  higher  education 
and  English  had  been  given  a  prominent  place,  when 
as  yet  there  was  no  strong  Christian  public  sentiment 
to  control  it. 

And  if  any  one  were  to  undertake  privately  the 
disagreeable  task  of  making  a  careful  statistical  com- 
parison of  the  work  done  by  missionaries  who  give 
education  a  front  seat  with  those  who  only  allow  it 
a  back  seat,  and  even  then  only  on  good  behavior, 
we  believe  that  the  results  would  be  a  vindication  of 
Dr.  Wheeler's  views.  For  both  numerically,  and  in 
spiritual  depth  and  vigor,  the  advantage  would  be 
found  to  be  nearly  always  on  the  side  of  those  who 
look  on  much  book-learning  as  a  dangerous  thing, 
unfit  for  babes  in  Christ,  and  doubly  dangerous  for 
such  as  know  Him  not  at  all. 

But  such  comparisons  would  not  be  edifying,  if 
put  in  print;  for  they  would  in  most  cases  arouse  too 
much  bitter  discussion  of  questions  of  mere  detail 
and  personal  competence. 


324  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Arguments  Pro  and  Con. 

And  yet,  as  long  as  one  of  the  earliest  and  ablest 
and  most  successful  champions  ot  that  policy  which 
gives  English  and  Science  and  Literature  a  promi- 
nent place  in  early  missionary  work  has  recently 
come  forward  and  publicly  attacked  Dr.  Anderson 
and  his  educational  policy,  a  brief  examination  of 
his  arguments  will  not  be  out  of  place. 

First  of  all  then,  he  claims*  that  "the  wants  and 
capacities  of  the  mind"  call  for  a  freer  impartation 
of  knowledge  than  Dr.  Anderson  favored.  To  which 
Mr.  Wheeler  used  to  reply  that  these  so  called  wants 
are  often  wholly  morbid  and  unhealthy,  and  need 
restraining  rather  than  gratifying;  and  that  so  called 
knowledge  which  unbalances  a  man's  moral  equilib- 
rium is  surely  a  little  above  his  present  "capacities" 
even  though  he  come  of  a  race  destined  in  time  to 
rule  the  world. 

Secondly,  Dr.  Hamlin  argues  that  Dr.  Anderson's 
policy  would  "make  Protestant  pastors  inferior  every- 
where to  Jesuit  missionaries,  who  all  speak  foreign 
languages  and  have  the  Papal  history  of  the  church 
by  heart." 

To  which  Dr.  Wheeler  would  have  replied.  If  you 
cannot  defeat  the  Jesuits  without  acquiring  that  shal- 
low, unbalanced  polish  for  which  they  are  so  justly 
infamous  and  pitiable  in  spite  of  their  learning,  or 
rather  because  of  it,  then  you  better  not  try  to  defeat 
them  at  all;  for  in  a  contest  of  mere  polish  and 
learning,   a   dishonest   and   tricky   man   will    nearly 

***My  Life  and  Times,"  by  Cyrus  Hamlin,  D.  D.,  page  414. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  325 

always  get  the  advantage;  but  a  clear  head  and  a 
true  heart  will  worst  him  de  facto,  even  if  not  in 
argument;  as  our  experience  at  Harpoot  abundantly 
illustrates.  So  that  what  we  first  need  and  most 
need  is  men  who  are  well  pruned  and  thoroughly 
waked  up,  rather  than  well  stuffed  with  learning. 

But,  thirdly.  Dr.  Hamlin  argues  that  Dr.  Ander- 
son's policy  caused  'great  and  general  dissatisfaction 
in  the  Armenian  Protestant  community  and  a  cessa- 
tion of  heartfelt  cooperation.'  To  which  Mr.  Wheeler 
used  to  reply  with  searching  directness.  Well,  no 
wonder,  since  you  have  once  started  them  on  the 
wrong  track  and  given  them  a  taste  of  that  most 
dangerous  of  intoxicants,  undigested  learning;  and 
furthermore  he  used  to  point  out  the  fact  that  the 
discontent  was  least  and  the  heartfelt  co-operation  most  in 
those  parts  of  Turkey  where  Dr.  Anderson  s  policy  was 
?nost  strictly  enforced.  Surely  such  facts  as  these 
count. 

And  as  to  the  "untold  mischief"  wrought  by  Dr. 
Anderson's  "revolutionary  system,"  Mr.  Wheeler 
would  have  remarked  that  the  pricking  of  puff  balls 
and  blisters  is  hardly  "untold  mischief;"  and  that 
substituting  the  more  essentials  of  character  for  the 
less  essentials  of  mere  excessive  learning  is  hardly 
"taking  the  back  track  in  education." 

Nor  is  it  fair  to  speak  of  a  system  as  having  "ut- 
terly broken  down  and  passed  off  the  stage,"  be- 
cause at  last  some  of  our  leading  missions  have 
passed  the  stage  of  childhood  and  need  the  higher 
education  and  the  English  which  at  an  earlier  stage 
would  only  have  underminded  their  vitality. 


326  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

And  yet  these  two  men,  (Dr.  Hamlin  and  Dr. 
Wheeler,)  who  disagreed  so  sharply  on  a  fundamen- 
tal matter  of  mission  policy,  were  personally  the 
warmest  and  most  congenial  of  friends;  and  it  is 
beautiful  to  remember  how  all  through  the  years, 
even  down  to  old  age,  each  strengthened  and  sup- 
ported the  other  in  the  Many  Things  on  which 
they  could  agree. 

THE  AMERICAN  FEVER. 

But,  as  has  already  been  implied,  even  after  such 
careful  foundation  laying,  higher  education  at  Har- 
poot  brought  with  it  some  serious  disappointments 
and  drawbacks.     Let  us  look  at  some  of  these. 

Perhaps  first  and  foremost  of  them  all  in  promi- 
nence, though  not  in  importance,  is  the  American 
fever,  which  soon  broke  out  and  continued  to  increase 
as  the  years  went  by;  or  in  other  words,  a  more  and 
more  abundant  exodus  of  wide-awake  young  and 
middle-aged  men  and  women,  but  especially  the  for- 
mer, to  the  land  of  promise,  called  America. 

But  why  call  this  a  disappointment?  Because  it 
has  for  a  while  at  least  greatly  reduced  the  number 
of  wide-awake  leaders  and  workers  in  the  various 
local  communities,  and  even  produced  a  slight,  ac- 
tual falling  off  in  the  number  of  available  pastors, 
preachers,  and  teachers  in  the  Harpoot  field,  the 
scarcity  being  more  marked  and  unfortunate  in  the 
higher  offices  than  in  the  lower. 

So  that  for  a  long  period  of  years  it  has  been  true 
that  new  openings  could  seldom  be  thought  of;  the 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  327 

local  churches  and  the  missionaries  having  all  they 
could  possibly  do  to  barely  hold  the  positions  which 
they  had  already  taken.  Surely  this  was  disappoint- 
ing; and  probably  showed  that  even  at  Harpoot  the 
secret  of  a  thoroughly  well  balanced  higher  educa- 
tion had  not  yet  been  fully  grasped. 

And  yet,  on  closer  examination,  we  shall  find  that 
this  great  exodus  was  not  wholly  bad  for  the  local 
churches,  as  Mr.  Wheeler  and  his  colleagues  were 
often  tempted  to  think;  but  rather  a  very  crude  and 
faulty  good  thing. 

For  after  a  while  some  of  these  young  men  came 
back  to  be  earnest,  quiet  leaders  in  their  own  com- 
munities, as  merchants,  doctors,  teachers  and  pas- 
tors; though  many  never  returned;  while  still  others 
returned  only  to  be  a  curse  and  a  stumbling  block 
to  all  who  came  under  their  influence. 

But  perhaps  a  more  important,  though  unnoticed 
gain  was  that  missionaries  and  churches  alike  were 
saved  from  the  temptation  to  mistake  too  rapid 
growth  for  healthy  growth,  and  were  forced  to  spend 
their  energies  in  deepenmg  and  perfecting  the  work  al- 
ready, done,  instead  of  simply  adding  to  it.  So  that  in 
God's  providence  what  seemed  to  be  a  set-back 
proved  to  be  a  blessing,  though  not  one  without 
some  incidental  drawbacks  and  a  great  deal  of  pain. 

For  undoubtedly  the  exodus  to  America  was  ex- 
cessive, and  brought  with  it  much  temporary  pain 
and  loss,  which  ought,  if  possible,  to  have  been 
averted;  and  can  be  averted  in  other  lands,  as  the 
best  methods  of  introducing  higher  education  come 
to  be  more  clearly  understood. 


328  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Goin^  to  Europe  or  America  for  an  Education. 

Here  too  mention  should  be  made  of  the  problem 
of  going  abroad  for  an  education;  which  may  be 
stated  thus,  "Shall  young  men  in  mission  lands  be 
encouraged  to  come  to  Europe  or  America  for  an 
education?"  To  which  Mr.  Wheeler  replied  with  a 
most  emphatic  "No;"  except  in  evidently  excep- 
tional cases. 

For  experience  shows  that  such  foreign  educated 
young  men  seldom  come  back  to  do  any  sort  of 
missionary  work  for  their  own  people;  and  even 
when  they  do  come  back,  are  apt  to  be  all  out  of 
sympathy  with  the  deeper  needs  of  their  nation; 
and  simply  eager  to  advance  them  rapidly  in  worldly 
prosperity  regardless  of  anything  deeper  and  more 
lasting. 

And  furthermore  it  has  been  found  that  every 
man,  picked  up  and  educated  by  some  kind  but 
short-sighted  friend  in  England  or  America,  soon 
plants  the  seeds  of  restlessness  and  discontent  in 
the  hearts  of  at  least  five  or  ten  more,  each  of  whom 
hopes  that,  if  he  can  somehow  get  to  America,  he 
too  will  find  some  friend  to  shoulder  him  and  give 
him  an  education.  And  so  it  comes  to  pass  that 
two  or  three  thousand  dollars  a  year  invested  in  edu- 
cating "ten  promising  young  men"  in  America  plants 
discontent  in  the  hearts  of  some  fifty  or  a  hundred 
others;  and  finally,  in  the  course  of  five  or  six  years, 
turns  out  just  one  or  two  good  workers  for  Christ,  at  a 
total  cost  of  ten  or  twelve  thousand  dollars,  and 
sometimes  not  even  as  many  as  that.       Surely  this 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  329 

is  not  economy;  but  the  blindest  sort  of  short-sighted 
charity;  except  in  those  evidently  exceptional  cases 
of  which  a  few  are  on  record,  and  most  noticeably 
that  of  Joseph  Nesima. 

But  says  some  one,  Are  not  young  men  from  China 
and  Japan  and  Turkey  entitled  to  the  privileges  and 
scholarships  of  our  American  colleges?  Yes,  most 
certainly  they  are,  if  they  can  get  them  on  their 
merits  for  scholarship  and  not  simply  because  they 
come  from  a  foreign  land  and  are  willing  to  make 
big  promises  as  to  what  they  are  going  to  do  in  the 
future,  when  they  once  get  a  costly  education.  For 
nowhere  on  the  surface  of  the  globe  does  the  pru- 
dent encouragement  of  real  merit  do  any  harm  to 
anyone;  for  the  lazy  ones  know  they  can  never  at- 
tain to  such  honors  by  mere  luck;  and  the  indus- 
trious know  that  even  they  can  attain  to  them  only 
by  hard  and  faithful  service  in  lesser  fields. 

RAISING  UP  MINISTERS. 

Another  disappointment,  implied  above,  but  wor- 
thy of  more  special  mention,  was  the  fact  that  not 
very  many  relatively  of  the  graduates  of  Euphrates 
College  ever  entered  the  Christian  ministry;  where- 
as Mr.  Wheeler  had  secretly  hoped  that  a  great 
many  would  make  that  their  first  choice. 

But  at  this  distance  of  space  and  time,  with  a 
massacre  in  between,  we  are  unable  to  furnish  any 
satisfactory  statistics  on  this  important  point.  And 
furthermore  some  years  ago,  when  we  might  easily 
have  collected  such  statistics,  it  hardly  seemed  worth 
while,  for  two  reasons;  firstly,  that  while  few  college 


330  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

seniors  were  entering  the  Christian  ministry,  there 
were  quite  a  goodly  number  from  the  lower  classes 
who  were  turning  aside  from  literature  and  general 
science  to  enter  the  humbler  but  higher  calling  of 
the  ministry;  justly  feeling  that  for  most  of  them  so 
much  general  science  and  learning  would  hardly  be 
necessary,  or  even  helpful,  just  at  present;  for  a 
good  minister  instinctively  feels  that  he  must  not 
get  his  head  too  full  of  miscellaneous  learning,  but 
rather  turn  to  the  study  of  life  in  the  concrete,  just 
as  soon  as  he  has  got  his  powers  fairly  under  control. 

TRAINING  CHRISTIAN  LAYMEN. 

And  secondly,  when  you  find  that  a  boy  is  not  in- 
clined to  be  a  professional  reformer  of  men,  or  at 
least  cannot  be  a  good  one,  it  is  surely  better  to 
make  a  first-class  Christian  merchant  or  teacher  of 
him,  rather  than  let  him  go  on  unaided  and  be  a 
second  rate  unchristian  merchant,  or  a  fourth  rate 
unchristian  nothing.  And  yet  this  was  just  what 
Mr.  Wheeler  was  doing;  he  was  seizing  the  restless 
young  minds  around  him,  and  making  fine  Christian 
men  of  most  of  them,  —  teachers,  merchants,  doc- 
tors, lawyers,  etc.  —  even  though  he  did  not  succeed 
in  imbuing  most  of  them  with  that  higher  Christian 
enthusiasm  and  heroism  of  which  his  own  life  was 
so  full;  but  which  is  not  any  too  common  even  in 
Christian  America.  It  is  then  hardly  to  be  won- 
dered at  that  even  so  earnest  a  man  as  Mr.  Wheeler 
did  not  see  more  of  it  in  a  land  just  waking  from 
centuries  of  ignorance  and  oppression. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  331 

And  yet  in  single  souls,  one  here  and  one  there, 
both  among  his  graduates  and  among  undergradu- 
ates, and  all  through  the  churches,  which  he  and  his 
colleagues  had  planted,  there  did  burn  the  light  of 
purest  heroism;  as  was  seen  very  plainly  when  the 
massacres  came,  and  as  was  seen  in  less  striking, 
but  more  conclusive  ways,  in  all  the  long  years  be- 
fore and  since  that  sad  event. 

MAKING  PROMOTION   CONDITIONAL  ON 
CHARACTER. 

And  yet  it  is  probably  true  that  if  he  had  stub- 
bornly refused  promotion  to  certain  students,  who 
passed  good  examinations  in  mere  abstractions,  but 
were  stubbornly  blind  to  the  deeper  lessons  of  life 
and  duty,  and  of  that  school,  and  had  said  to  them, 
"This  institution  must  be  a  Christian  school;  and  we 
wish  no  blind  men  in  its  higher  grades;  and  none 
even  in  the  lower  grades  who  are  not  willing  to  be 
cured  of  their  blindness"  —  it  is  probable,  I  say,  that 
if  he  had  taken  such  ground  as  this,  even  with  such 
drawbacks  as  he  had  to  face,  he  might  have  seen 
twice  yea  thrice  as  many  of  his  pupils  entering  some 
form  of  directly,  intensely  soul-saving  work. 

For  a  very  few  lumps  of  ice  will  strangely  cool  off 
a  wholeclassroom  of  warmer-hearted  men;  and  it  was 
sad  to  see  how  often  some  respectable  and  so  called 
••moral"  but  loveless  and  heartless  self-seeker  did 
thus  cool  off  some  of  the  higher  classes  by  his  chill- 
ing and  deadening  presence.  Surely  this  was  kind- 
ness misplaced;  for  it  did  not  save  the  wolf,  but  did 
greatly  injure  the  lambs;  and  yet  even  these  wolves 


332  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

in  sheep's  clothing  were  so  closely  watched,  and  so 
diligently  persecuted  with  truth  and  kindness,  that 
even  they  did  far  less  harm  than  they  might  other- 
wise have  done;  so  that,  in  spite  of  them,  the  results 
were  large  and  cheering.  But  how  much  larger 
they  might  have  been  without  them. 

And  doubtless,  even  in  our  American  colleges,  a 
time  will  come  when  in  the  best  of  them  some  such 
test  of  promotion  will  be  required;  so  that  a  persis- 
tently mean  and  selfish  man  can  get  no  promotion 
there;  or  even  one  who  shows  in  the  class  room  the 
slightest  tendency  to  argue  in  tricky,  insincere  and 
unfair  ways. 

For  no  such  man  can  ever  be  a  power  for  good 
among  his  fellows;  and  the  less  mere  book  learning 
and  polish  he  gets,  with  our  help,  the  better;  for  he 
will  only  use  it  in  misleading  others  and  ruining  his 
own  soul.*  And  yet  even  such  men  and  boys  gen- 
erally have  a  deeper,  better  life,  and  can  ordinarily 
be  brought  to  terms,  and  made  to  change  their  ways, 
when  they  once  find  that  the  lovely  privileges  of  a 
wide-awake  social  atmosphere  cannot  be  shared,  ex- 
cept by  a  change  of  life. 

EDUCATING  THE  PUBLIC. 

But  this  college  president  of  whom  we  have  been 
speaking  was  also  a  vigorous,  magnetic  and  con- 
vincing speaker;  though  relying  more  on  the  intense 
truth  and  importance  and  clearness  of  what  he  said 

♦Only  we  should  be  careful  to  make  the  promotion  really  conditional  on 
character;  and  not  on  mere  professions  of  any  sort,  of  the  sincerity  of  which 
one's  daily  life  does  not  give  abundant  and  satisfactory  evidence. 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  333 

than  on  any  oratorical  or  rhetorical  ornaments  of 
any  sort.  To  this  fact  hundreds  of  audiences  all 
over  the  eastern  and  middle  western  states  can  tes- 
tify; for  he  seems  to  have  been  a  speaker  whom  it 
was  hard  for  men  to  forget,  after  once  coming  under 
his  spell.  While  in  the  distant  Orient  thousands 
wondered  at  the  man  who  could  be  so  tender  and 
yet  so  stern;  so  earnest  and  yet  so  quiet;  and  so  im- 
posing in  public  and  yet  so  easy  to  approach  as 
soon  as  he  stepped  down  from  the  pulpit  stairs;  for 
even  boys  and  girls  and  timid  oriental  women  seemed 
never  to  be  afraid  of  Mr.  Wheeler,  except  when 
they  had  a  guilty  and  unrepentant  conscience. 

And  he  also  loved  to  serve  the  good  cause  with 
his  pen;  first  by  brief,  nervous,  pithy  letters  to  pri- 
vate persons,  whom  he  thought  he  might  in  some 
way  help,  especially  to  fellow  missionaries  in  other 
lands  and  to  friends  of  the  work  in  the  home  land, 
these  last  often  enclosing  a  circular  letter,  or  report 
of  work  done,  in  addition  to  some  things  more  per- 
sonal. Then  next,  he  and  his  good  wife  loved  to 
to  write  newsy,  tell-tale  and  frequent  letters  for  the 
papers  in  the  home  land;  thus  helping  to  keep  their 
friends  in  sympathy  with  the  work  abroad,  and  also 
helping  to  keep  their  own  hearts  in  closer  sympathy 
with  the  home  churches.* 

And,  lastly,  he  and  his  wife  loved  to  write  books, 
having  between  them  sent  out  seven  books  about 
Turkey  and  six  books  for  Turkey,  each  of  which,  in 

*But  this  gift  of  easy,  rapid,  newsy  letter  writing  is  one  in  which  some 
good  missionaries  are  emphatically  lacking;  and  we  should  be  careful  not  to 
expect  it  of  them,  if  we  wish  them  to  do  really  good  work,  free  from  exces- 
sive and  useless  wear. 


334  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

its  day,  was  widely  read,  though  some  of  them  are 
now  out  of  print.     The  list  is  as  follows: 

Ten  Years  on  the  Euphrates;  or  Primitive  Mission- 
ary Policy  Illustrated.  American  Tract  Soci- 
ety, 1868. 

Letters  from  Eden;  or  Reminiscences  of  Mission- 
ary Life  in  the  East.     American  Tract  Society,  1868. 

Grace  Illustrated;  or  A  Bouquet  from  our  Mission- 
ary Garden  (by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wheeler).  Congre- 
gational Publishing  Society,  1876. 

Little  Children  in  Eden,  1876. 

Odds  and  Ends;  or  Gleanings  from  Missionary 
Life.     Congregational  Publishing  Society,  1888. 

Daughters  of  Armenia  (by  Mrs.  Wheeler);  Amer- 
ican Tract  Society,  1876. 

Missions  in  Eden;  by  Mrs.  Wheeler,  1898.  Flem- 
ing H.  Revell  &  Co. 

Commentary  on  Matthew,  in  Armenian. 

Book  of  Simple  Prayers  for  Home  Use  (and  for 
those  who  feel  that  they  don't  know  what  to  say), 
in  Armenian. 

Simple  Catechism  for  Children,  in  Armenian; 
printed  on  his  own  press  at  Harpoot.  Very  popular 
and  widely  scattered  even  among  Gregorians. 

And  finally  several  text  books  for  use  in  the  pre- 
paratory departments  of  Euphrates  College,  though 
also  widely  used  elsewhere. 

Besides  which  Mr.  Wheeler  was  also  the  responsi- 
ble publisher  or  financial  manager  of  a  very  large 
edition  of  a  beautiful  Armenian  Primer,  edited  by 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  335 

Miss  Maria  West;  and  of  an  Armenian  translation 
of  Dr.  Goodell's  sermons,  first  published  in  Turkish. 

REASONS  FOR  WRITING  THIS  BOOK. 

But,  says  some  one,  how  happens  it  that  the  views 
of  mission  policy  here  explained  differ  in  some  re- 
spects from  those  published  in  "Ten  Years  on  the 
Euphrates,"  and  are  at  so  many  points  more  com- 
plete than  those  there  given?  The  answer  is  that 
that  work,  as  its  name  implies,  covers  the  experi- 
ence of  only  ten  years  of  missionary  service,  while 
this  covers  forty;  that  that  was  written  at  almost 
fever  heat  by  a  man  who  realized  but  dimly  how 
revolutionary  and  far-reaching  were  the  reforms  he 
was  advocating;  and  thirdly,  "Ten  Years"  was  writ- 
ten by  a  man  who  had  such  a  curiously  excessive 
confidence  in  the  power  of  mere  "common-sense" 
to  guide  men  aright,  and  such  an  excessive  distrust 
in  his  own  wisdom  that  he  failed  to  mention,  or  at 
least  to  properly  emphasize,  many  vital  points  of 
detail  which  had  contributed  markedly  to  his  own 
success,  and  to  that  of  his  missionary  colleagues  at 
Harpoot. 

And  furthermore,  as  a  pioneer  work  in  a  new  and 
untried  field  of  thought,  it  quite  often  misrepre- 
sented the  writer's  own  real  views  and  methods, 
making  him  seem  a  more  one-sided  and  severe  man 
than  he  really  was.  For,  in  his  intense  eagerness  to 
convince  men  of  those  parts  of  his  life's  message 
which  had  been  oftenest  challenged  and  misunder- 
stood, he  failed  to  mention  clearly  and  often  enough 


336  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

those  deeper,  but  less  distinctive  parts,  in  which  his 
own  methods  and  aims  resembled  those  of  other 
men. 

And  the  same  was  true  of  his  more  public  con- 
versational utterances  on  these  themes;  they  were 
nearly  always  called  forth  in  the  heat  of  debate,  and 
misrepresented  the  man,  as  he  really  was  in  daily 
life.  For  had  he  not  had  a  deep  and  earnest  and 
tender  Christian  life,  the  mere  preaching  of  self-sup- 
port would  never  have  given  him  such  wonderful 
influence  over  both  men  and  churches. 

But  in  private  conversation  at  home,  and  with 
congenial  friends  outside,  the  fullness  of  his  thought 
came  out  in  a  more  symmetrical  form;  so  that  with 
the  help  of  such  conversations,  and  a  careful  study 
of  the  things  he  did,  (since  actions  speak  louder 
than  words,)  we  have  tried  to  give  the  more  com- 
plete picture  of  his  thoughts  and  plans,  which  he 
himself  was  too  self-distrustful  and  hurried  to  give. 

MR.  WHEELER  AS  AN  ADVISER  OF  INDIVIDUALS. 

Nor  will  our  picture  of  Mr.  Wheeler's  educational 
policy  be  complete  till  we  have  glanced  briefly  at 
his  achievements  as  an  adviser  of  individuals,  to  see 
how  far  he  excelled  in  this  important  branch  of 
Christian  activity,  which  is  doubtless  destined  in 
time  to  become  a  distinct  profession,  wholly  apart 
from  that  of  the  public  ministry. 

Well,  as  for  himself,  he  considered  that  he  had  no 
gifts  at  all  in  this  line,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  fol- 
lowing remarks  taken  down  almost  word  for  word 
at  a  time  when  we  happened  to  be  discussing  that 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  337 

exceedingly  instructive  and  suggestive  book,  Boyd's 
"Life  of  Philip  Doddridge;"  published  by  the 
American  Tract  Society.  Said  he:  'Doddridge 
had  a  skill  in  influencing  men  which  I  have  never 
had;  for  the  power  to  wisely  prescribe  for  individu- 
als, as  he  did,  and  the  power  to  simply  state  general 
principles  as  I  do,  are  two  very  different  gifts;  and 
so  I  have  always  avoided  attempting  to  minutely 
guide  individuals,  fearing  that  I  might  do  more  harm 
by  it  than  good.'* 

And  yet  the  very  skill  with  which  he  ordinarily 
knew  what  general  principles  to  give,  and  what  ones 
to  leave  out,  did  in  reality  mark  him  as  a  master 
hand  at  advice-giving,  the  very  art  which  he  claimed 
that  he  did  not  understand.  For  surely  a  skilful 
advice-giver  must  be  one  who  can  accomplish  his 
purpose  and  get  men  on  the  right  track,  without 
saying  very  much,  and  without  ignoring  the  ability 
of  his  hearer  to  make  the  final  decision  for  himself. 
—  And  Mr.  Wheeler's  whole  life  was  full  of  just  such 
words  as  these,  words  meant  to  cheer  or  save  some 
single  soul  in  need. 

MR.  WHEELER  AS  AN  EDUCATOR. 

And  when  in  years  to  come  the  art  of  helping 
individual  souls  in  trouble  comes  to  be  more  fully 
understood,  and  more  skilfully  practiced,  than  it  is 
today,  I  believe  that  his  name  will  stand  high  among 
the  number  of  those  who  laid  the  foundations  for 
this  new  subdivision  of  ministerial  work. 

♦From  a  conversation  held  January  5,  1890. 

(22) 


338  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

True,  he  sometimes  failed  to  state  his  general 
principles  simply  enough,  and  often  assumed  that 
they  were  clearer  and  easier  to  understand  and  apply 
than  they  really  were;  and  yet  no  one  in  trouble 
could  meet  that  off-hand,  tender  and  rough  mis- 
sionary, without  feeling  a  deeper  love  for  truth, 
and  a  stronger  longing  to  find  and  catch  it  some- 
how; and  such  a  longing  is  never  in  vain;  and  to 
some  souls  it  is  almost  a  guarantee  of  success,  so 
strong  is  the  inspiration  that  it  brings. 

And  hence  it  is  that  we  feel  compelled  to  rank 
him  high  as  a  teacher  of  individual  men;  though  we 
still  feel  that  in  his  power  to  lead  and  organize 
masses  of  men  lay  the  greatest  secret  of  his  life's 
success,  and  the  most  lasting  memorial  of  his  use- 
fulness. 

As  a  teacher  he  was  great,  exceptionally  so;  and 
yet  it  was  the  greatness  of  one  who  had  an  ill-dis- 
guised contempt  for  much  of  the'work  he  was  com- 
pelled to  do.  But  as  an  organizer,  as  a  founder  of 
churches  and  a  student  of  social  methods  he  was  at 
his  best,  and  towered  like  a  giant  above  most  men, 
though  he  himself  knew  is  not.  For  he  often  won- 
dered why  others  could  not  see  some  things  as 
clearly  as  he  saw  them. 

But  now  that  he  has  seen  them,  and  made  them 
plain,  we  believe  that  many  another  man  will  be 
able  to  carry  on  the  work  which  he  began.  Though 
curiously  enough  about  all  he  accomplished  dur- 
ing the  first  twenty  or  thirty  years  of  his  teaching 
was  to  get  a  great  many  missionaries  to  admit  that 
his  theories  were  correct,  though  they  could  not  see 


THE  FOUNDING  OF  COLLEGES.  339 

how  they  were  ever  to  be  worked  out  practically 
anywhere  outside  of  Harpoot  !  But  fortunately  that 
day  is  slowly  passing  away;  and  from  simply  talk- 
ing about  self-support  and  the  best  methods  of 
higher  education  ideally,  men  are  beginning  to  ac- 
tually put  them  in  practice;  and  so  the  good  work 
goes  on. 

A  LOOK  INTO  THE  FUTURE. 

But  the  question  still  arises,  May  not  a  time  come 
when  higher  education  (Astronomy,  Physics,  Law, 
Philosophy  and  Languages)  will  prepare  the  way 
for  the  gospel  m  many  a  heathen  community?  Yes, 
most  assuredly;  but  not  till  our  schools  of  learning 
are  themselves  pervaded  from  top  to  bottom  with  a 
Controlling  Christian  atmosphere.  But  to  get 
and  maintain  such  an  atmosphere,  even  in  a  Chris- 
tian community,  requires  no  small  amount  of  genius; 
and  to  do  it  in  a  college,  unsupported  by  Christian 
surroundings,  would  indeed  require  the  rarest  of 
gifts  and  far  more  skill  in  teaching  than  any  one  yet 
possesses. 

A  SHORT-SIGHTED  POLICY. 

But,  said  a  critic  from  India,  if  we  do  not  offer 
our  young  men  the  best  sort  of  a  general  education, 
scientific  and  literary,  without  much  regard  to  char- 
acter, (so  long  as  they  are  not  openly  immoral)  we 
shall  lose  many  of  our  best  men,  and  simply  cripple 
our  work.  To  which  Mr.  Wheeler  was  wont  to 
reply,  Your  practically  godless  college  will  really 
cripple  your  work  far  more  than   the  loss  of  any 


340  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

number  of  promising  young  students.  For  these 
very  students,  with  their  undigestible  learning,  will 
be  its  worst  enemies  and  hindrances.  And,  secondly, 
you  will  not  lose  your  best  men;  but  simply  your 
smartest  and  most  merely  tonguey  ones;  for  the 
really  strongest  men,  those  best  able  to  win  and  up- 
lift their  fellows,  will  stick  by  you,  if  your  humbler 
school  is  full  of  that  energy  and  accuracy  and  in- 
sight and  love  which  is  so  intensely  attractive  to 
true  and  healthy  natures,  and  so  uplifting  to  those 
who  are  only  half  true. 

And  right  here  came  in  the  beautiful  consistency 
of  the  man  in  all  his  deeper  thought;  for  while  to 
the  very  last  he  opposed  higher  education  wherever 
and  whenever  it  came  in  too  soon,  or  in  unhealthy 
and  misleading  forms,  still  he  himself  was  one  of  its 
wisest  champions  whenever  it  could  come  in  so  as 
to  really  be  a  help;  his  own  mistakes  being  generally 
those  of  incompleteness  rather  than  untrueness.  So 
that  even  those  features  of  his  work  which  we  are 
compelled  to  criticise  become  the  suggestive  start- 
ing point  for  others  which  are  more  complete. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

A  GLANCE  AT  FEMALE  EDUCATION. 


But  Mr.  Wheeler  was  also  a  champion  of  female 
education;  and  in  common  with  his  colleagues,  male 
and  female,  worked  so  earnestly  for  the  advance- 
ment of  this  important  branch  of  missionary  work, 
that  no  account  of  his  life  would  be  complete  with- 
out a  mention  of  it;  though  we  need  not  repeat  points 
already  spoken  of,  except  when  some  new  light  is 
thrown  on  them  by  the  female  department;  and 
would  also  remind  the  reader  that  this  chapter  is 
simply  a  record  of  things  which  Mr.  Wheeler  helped 
in  doing,  rather  than  a  record  of  those  in  which  he 
was  in  any  sense  a  leader  or  chief  originator  of  the 
plans  adopted. 

Yet  in  giving  a  true  and  helpful  picture  of  educa- 
tional work  at  Harpoot,  and  of  the  policy  there  fol- 
lowed, it  supplies  a  most  important  link;  for  even 
here  the  definiteness  of  plan  and  aim  and  the  insist- 
ence on  self-support  which  we  have  seen  elsewhere 
stand  out  clearly,  both  in  the  early  history  of  the 
''Female  Seminary,"  so  called,  and  in  the  later  his- 
tory of  the  "Female  Department  of  Euphrates  Col- 
lege." Let  us  then  take  a  brief  glance  at  each  of 
these,  and  also  at  the  still  wider  "work  for  women" 
of  which  they  were  only  a  part. 

341 


342  SELF-SUPPQRTING  CHURCHES. 

Learning  How  to  Pray. 

Going  back  then  to  the  earliest  days  of  the  mis- 
sion, we  find  the  missionaries  firmly  insisting  that 
women  had  souls,  and  that  a  woman's  soul  was  worth 
as  much  as  a  man's;  for  both  points  were  disputed,  the 
second  being  disputed  by  not  a  few  even  in  Chris- 
tian America.  And  even  when  these  points  were 
theoretically  admitted,  the  men  thought  nothing  of 
crowding  the  women  out  of  their  half,  or  rather  third 
of  the  church,  till  one  day  Mr.  Wheeler  arose  in  his 
wrath  and  put  down  a  pole  to  divide  off  the  women's 
section;  and  let  it  be  known  that  he  should  insist  on 
the  men  staying  to  the  right  side  of  that  pole,  that 
the  women  might  have  a  fair  chance  on  the  left,  and 
just  as  good  seats  as  the  men  had. 

For  oriental  etiquette  said  that  none  but  elderly 
women  need  go  to  church  anyway;  and  that  even 
these  should  sit  way  off  in  the  back  part  of  the 
church,  or  if  possible  in  a  gallery  by  themselves. 

"But  young  women  ought  to  stay  at  home  and 
take  care  of  the  children."  Oh  no,  said  the  mis- 
sionaries, bring  them  all  to  church;  letting  the  older 
children  sit  up  front  under  the  speaker's  charming 
eye,  and  the  younger  ones  side  of  their  mothers  or 
fathers,  which  ever  happens  to  know  best  how  to 
keep  them  quiet;  and,  if  the  baby  cries,  simply  sit  a 
little  nearer  the  door,  so  that  you  can  take  it  out 
occasionally  !  And  so  in  many  of  the  churches  the 
children's  circle  around  the  pulpit,  and  the  babies* 
circle   around   the   door,  were  very  noticeable  fea- 


A  GLANCE  AT  FEMALE  EDUCATION.  343 

tures,  and  helpful  ones,  even  though  some  of  the 
little  ones  fell  fast  asleep  and  dreamt  of  heaven  in- 
stead of  singing  of  it. 

LEARNING  TO  READ. 

But  women  and  girls  should  also  learn  to  read 
said  the  missionaries  !  Whereat  even  the  women 
themselves  stared  in  incredulous  amazement.  But 
when  they  found  that  missionary  ladies  who  could 
not  even  talk  Armenian  could  read  it,*  and  that 
some  of  the  more  plucky  of  their  own  number  had 
actually  learned  to  read,  and  seemed  to  enjoy  it 
hugely,  and  make  better  wives  and  daughters,  in- 
stead of  worse  ones,  the  tide  slowly  turned  in  favor 
of  female  education  of  a  very  elementary  sort. 

Though  in  one  community  the  turning  came  in  a 
rather  unexpected  way.  For  when  the  brethren  at 
Palu  found  that  the  missionary  rebuked  them  for 
not  getting  their  wives  to  come  with  them  to  church, 
and  also  to  learn  to  read,  they  went  home  and 
whipped  them  to  make  them  obey  and  come!  so  that 
next  time  the  missionary  visited  that  place,  he  found 
the  women  all  in  their  places,  and  really  quite  zeal- 
ous in  learning  to  read  !  Surely  this  was  an  oriental 
way  of  doing  it,  and  one  at  which  Mr.  Wheeler  was 
quite  shocked;  though  he  sometimes  laughingly  re- 
marked that  even  in  Christian  America  it  might  be 
better  if  husbands  and  wives  would  sometimes  thus 
punish  each  other,  (only  without  using  the  sticks.) 

*The  first  girls'   school  in  that  whole  region  was  one   taught  by   Mrs. 
Wheeler,  before  she  herself  could  do  much  at  talking  the  language. 


344  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

Here  also  mention  should  be  made  of  a  device, 
quite  often  resorted  to  in  early  times,  which  was  to 
send  out  enterprising  children  from  the  schools  to 
give  short  reading  lessons  to  many  mothers  and 
older  sisters,  who  could  not  get  courage  or  time  to 
come  to  school  themselves,  but  still  did  want  to 
learn  something;  though,  as  the  work  advanced, 
these  wide-awake  little  teachers  seem  unfortunately 
to  have  been  almost  wholly  displaced  by  Bible 
women,  instead  of  being  simply  supplemented  and 
superintended  hy  them. 

TRAINING  PREACHERS'  WIVES. 

But  ere  long  another  want  was  felt,  namely  that 
of  a  class  for  preachers'  wives;  for  in  the  orient,  even 
as  in  the  Occident,  every  preacher's  wife  is  either  a 
drag  on  his  usefulness  or  a  help  in  increasing  that 
usefulness;  and  the  missionaries  soon  realized  that  a 
heavy,  sleepy  and  utterly  ignorant  wife  would  be  a 
serious  drawback  to  the  young  middle-aged  men 
whom  they  were  selecting  and  training  as  pioneer 
preachers  and  pastors. 

Hence  arose  the  Female  Seminary,  or  class  for 
preachers'  wives,  and  for  others  definitely  pledged 
to  devote  themselves  for  a  season  or  else  for  life  to 
some  sort  of  work  for  others,  either  as  teachers  or 
as  pastors'  and  teachers'  wives;  for  the  time  had  not 
yet  come  when  even  the  most  devout  would  consent 
without  a  struggle  to  let  their  children  marry  a  wan- 
dering and  homeless  preacher  of  the  glad  tidings  of 
Christ.  But  thus  pledged  to  serve  the  Lord  actively 
in  some  way^  in  token  of  gratitude,  many  ere  long 


A  GLANCE  AT  FEMALE  EDUCATION.  345 

made  up  their  minds  to  let  their  daughters  marry 
these  dreaded  preachers;  till  at  last,  preachers  be- 
came almost  too  popular  in  the  matrimonial  world, 
and  were  offered  wives  from  even  the  most  worldly- 
families.  But  fortunately  they  were  generally  wise 
enough  to  refuse  them;  for  the  careful  training  which 
brought  them  honor  had  also  brought  them  wisdom. 

BEING  CAREFUL  NOT  TO  ADMIT  TOO  MANY 
PUPILS  AT  FIRST. 

But  the  objects  for  which  the  Female  Seminary, 
so  called,  was  founded  were  not  exhausted  by  a 
mere  wish  to  raise  up  better  preachers'  wives;  for 
another  purpose,  namely  the  uplifting  of  that  whole 
people's  ideals  of  manhood  and  womanhood  also  lay 
back  of  it. 

But  realizing  that  this  is  a  thing  which  can  be 
done  only  by  example,  and  not  by  mere  numbers, 
the  missionaries  were  careful  not  to  admit  too  many 
prospective  mothers  to  their  school;  realizing  that  a 
few  choice  and  really  lovely  mothers  could  do  more 
good  by  their  example  and  influence  than  a  much 
larger  number  chosen  less  carefully. 

Hence  admission  to  the  Female  Seminary  (whose 
pupils  were  none  of  them  as  yet  wholly  self-support- 
ing) was  a  privilege  offered  to  but  few,  outside  of 
the  class  spoken  of  above;  and  soon  taken  away 
even  from  these  lucky  ones,  if  they  proved  incapable 
of  entering  into  the  real  spirit  of  the  school.  And 
right  here  we  find  one  of  the  most  important  lessons 
to  be  learned  from  the  early  history  of  female  edu- 


346  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

cation  at  Harpoot;  for  even  as  sixty  or  seventy 
years  ago  there  was  a  mania  for  educating  thousands 
of  boys  free,  at  the  Board's  expense,  so  now  we  are 
in  danger  of  falling  into  a  similar  wholesale  educa- 
tion of  girls  at  the  expense  of  the  good  women  of 
England  and  America,  hoping  thus  to  do  much 
good;  but  forgetting  that  truth,  like  corn  and  flowers, 
should  not  be  scattered  at  random,  but  rather  planted 
for  the  most  part  in  some  field,  in  which  we  and  our 
under-Ieaders  can  probably  keep  down  the  weeds 
fairly  well,  as  the  months  and  years  go  by. 

For  the  world  at  large  can  never  be  blessed  by 
our  corn  planting  or  truth  planting  until  they  are 
willing  to  join  v/ith  us  in  the  hard  work  of  keeping 
down  the  weeds,  wherever  the  corn  is  planted. 

And  so  what  seemed  the  hard-hearted  folly  of  the 
missionaries  in  turning  away  so  many  poor  girls 
whose  fathers  were  worldly  and  stingy,  and  still 
others  who  were  too  young  to  make  good  teachers, 
or  too  dull  to  make  good  leaders  among  their  sex, 
enabled  them  to  do  deeper  and  better  work,  and  at 
last  wake  up  the  hungry  outsiders  to  really  weeding 
and  cultivating  their  own  homes  and  lives  more  dili- 
gently in  hopes  of  some  day  sending  some  of  their 
choicest  to  that  wonderful  school  on  the  hill. 

For  as  soon  as  it  was  noised  abroad  that  a  miser's 
daughter  could  not  get  in  there,  and  that  even  a 
generous  man's  daughter  could  not  get  in,  if  she 
were  lazy  or  self-seeking;  but  that  even  the  poorest 
could  get  in  somehow,  if  their  outside  privileges  had 
been  well  used;  —  when  these  things  became  known, 
there  arose  a  wide-spread  passion  for  better  homes 


A  GLANCE  AT  FEMALE  EDUCATION.  347 

and  better  girLs,  and  better  girls'  schools  and  girls' 
corners  in  boys'  schools;  so  that  instead  of  having 
forty  or  fifty  girls,  studying  at  Harpoot  at  American 
expense,  to  go  out  and  simply  become  helpless 
brides  in  unchristian  homes,  there  were  in  the  course 
of  a  very  few  years  thousands  of  homes,  all  over  that 
wide  field,  competing  for  the  honor  of  raising  up  a 
daughter  worthy  of  admission  to  the  school  where 
only  choice  girls  could  ever  go,  and  girls  whose 
fathers  and  mothers  appreciated  a  good  education 
well  enough  to  do  all  they  could  toward  paying  for 
it  and  giving  their  girl  a  good  chance  to  use  it  after- 
wards. 

So  that  by  a  persistent  limiting  of  their  numbers 
at  first,  they  finally  reached  and  thoroughly  roused 
at  least  ten  or  twenty  times  as  many  girls  and 
mothers  and  fathers  as  they  could  possibly  have 
reached  by  starting  in  on  a  larger  scale,  and  making 
the  terms  of  admission  easier  than  they  did. 

And  in  comparing  different  schools,  this  same 
fact  will  be  often  illustrated;  for  it  will  be  found 
that  the  ones  which  have  the  fewest  pupils  are  often 
doing  the  most  good,  because  a  larger  proportion  of 
their  pupils  become  leaders  in  the  commmtity  after  grad- 
uation', the  test  being  not,  "How  many  nice,  Chris- 
tian girls  are  there  in  this  school?"  but,  "How  many 
pupils  are  there  here  who  are  by  nature  fitted  to  be- 
come leaders  in  some  form  of  active  Christian  work? 
and  are  definitely  preparing  for  such  leaderships  — 
and  a  hundred  dollars  spent  in  training  and  support- 
ing Bible  women  or  pastors'  wives  will  do  far  more 
good  than  the  same  amount  of  money  spent  in  sup- 


348  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

porting  and  training  a  lot  of  nice  girls  in  school, 
who  have  no  idea  of  ever  becoming  leaders,  and 
might  be  helped  at  far  less  cost  in  their  own  homes 
and  by  women  of  their  own  race.  Though  even 
men,  women  and  girls  not  all  fit  for  leadership 
might,  with  propriety,  be  welcomed  to  our  station 
classes  for  laymen  provided  they  were  willing  to 
bring  with  them  food  enough  to  pay  their  board 
while  there.  For  then  even  one  week's  outing 
would  bring  a  life-long  blessing,  without  lessening 
in  the  least  that  spirit  of  self-denial  and  self-reliance 
without  which  our  native  churches  and  native  Chris- 
tians can  never  be  strong  and  healthy.* 

RAISING  UP  CHRISTIAN  TEACHERS. 

But,  as  the  years  went  by,  a  time  came  when 
preachers'  wives  no  longer  needed  to  go  to  school 
to  study  reading,  writing  and  geography,  for  the 
younger  generation  of  preachers  were  able  to  get 
wives  who  had  learned  all  these  things  before;  and 
the  number  of  married  women  in  the  school  steadily 
decreased.  But  meanwhile,  the  demand  for  young 
lady  teachers  had  steadily  increased;  so  that  gradu- 
ally the  school  became  more  and  more  markedly  a 
normal  school,  for  raising  up  young-lady  teachers, 
most  of  whom  could  never  become  pastors'  and 
preachers'  wives;  for  there  were  not  enough  pastors 
and  preachers  to  marry  them. 

*But,  strange  to  say,  there  are  some  cases  on  record  where  the  members 
of  these  station  classes,  male  and  female,  though  supported  by  the  mission^ 
were  not  even  professing  Christians!  Surely  a  strangely  unprofitable  use  of 
mission  money,  and  altogether  too  costly  and  pauperizing  a -way  to  get  a 
few  converts :  even  when  the  studies  taught  are  so  simple  as  not  to  have 
any  intoxicating  or  demoralizing  effect,  of  the  sort  spoken  of  elsewhere. 


A  GLANCE  AT  FEMALE  EDUCATION.  349 

This  naturally  brought  with  it  many  minor  chang- 
es; and  most  marked  of  all  an  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  pupils  whom  the  missionaries  were  willing  to 
admit,  and  could  admit  without  any  lowering  of 
their  standards  as  to  character,  intelligence  and  self- 
support. 

Side  by  side  of  this  increase  in  numbers,  also 
came  a  marked  advance  in  general  scholarship,  and 
in  courses  of  study;  for  many  of  these  young  women 
knew  more  on  entering  the  school  than  did  some  of 
their  predecessors  on  leaving  it.  But  the  spirit  of 
the  school  remained  the  same,  and  also  its  immedi- 
ate purpose,  namely,  to  raise  up  Christian  work- 
ers, few  being  as  yet  admitted  who  did  not  expect 
to  enter  upon  some  form  of  active  Christian  service, 
for  a  while  at  least,  though  many  would  of  course 
ultimately  settle  down  into  private  life  as  farmers' 
wives,  merchants'   wives,  etc. 

OPENING  THE  DOORS  STILL  WIDER. 

But  as  the  benefits  of  female  education  came  to 
be  more  widely  felt,  and  the  people  became  more 
and  more  willing  to  carefully  train  their  daughters  at 
home  and  pay  their  bills  at  school,  the  missionaries 
felt  that  at  last  the  time  had  come  to  open  their 
doors  still  more  widely,  and  say  that  any  girl  of 
good  character  might  come  at  her  father  s  expense, 
whether  she  ever  expected  to  teach  or  not. 

Nor  were  they  inconsistent  in  thus  opening  the 
doors  more  widely;  for  by  keeping  them  partly  shut 
for  so  many  years  they  had  so  changed  public  opinion 
and  the  home  life  of  thousands,  that  now  at  last  a 


350  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

time  had  really  come  when  a  wide  open  door  would 
only  help  to  make  the  impressionstill  deeper.  And 
yet,  in  the  interests  of  truth  and  for  the  sake  of 
giving  still  greater  weight  to  the  praises  thus  far 
given,  and  to  be  given  later  on,  we  are  compelled  to 
admit  that,  as  in  the  boys'  department,  they  proba- 
bly did  open  the  doors  a  little  too  wide;  or  rather 
were  not  quite  careful  enough  to  quickly  send  out 
again  those  who  were  too  proud  and  stubborn  to 
cheerfully  put  on  the  wedding  garment  provided  by 
the  King,  (Matt.  22:  11  to  14,)  by  entering  into 
sympathy  with  the  spirit  of  the  school;  since  for 
such  as  these  the  outer  darkness  is  a  better  training 
school,  and  one  in  which  they  cannot  do  as  much 
harm  to  others.  And  yet,  in  the  main,  this  wider 
opening  of  the  gates  to  those  who  could  pay  their 
own  way  was  doubtless  a  good  thing,  even  if  it  did 
go  a  little  too  far. 

A  COLLEGE  FOR  GIRLS. 

And  so  at  last  the  "Female  Seminary"  became  the 
"Female  Department  of  Euphrates  College,"  open 
to  all  who  could  pass  its  entrance  examinations, 
obey  its  rules  and  pay  their  bills;  some  pupils,  even 
coming  from  distant  parts  of  Turkey  to  fit  them- 
selves to  be  assistant  teachers  in  female  seminaries 
elsewhere;  1883  being  the  eventful  year  in  which 
the  first  class  of  young  women,  who  ever  graduated 
from  a  college,  in  the  interior  of  Turkey,  went  forth 
to  begin  their  life's  work. 

And  it  was  Mr.  Wheeler's  privilege  to  have  fur- 
nished by  the  earnings  of  his  press,  and  the  plead- 


A  GLANCE  AT  FEMALE  EDUCATION.  351 

ings  of  his  pen  and  the  sweating  of  his  brow,  the 
beautiful  group  of  buildings  which  for  thirteen  years 
previous  to  the  massacre  served  as  the  home  for  this 
young  women's  college. 

Nor  did  the  young  women  all  turn  out  mere  old 
maids  as  some  said  they  would;  the  chief  trouble 
having  always  been  that  they  could  hardly  keep 
them  "old  maids"  long  enough  to  have  this  branch 
of  the  college  well  supplied  with  teachers  !  And 
so  intense  was  Mr.  Wheeler's  interest  in  this  depart- 
ment of  the  college,  and  so  deep  his  respect  for 
womanhood  that  whenever  he  dropped  into  their 
classes,  (not  as  examiner*  but  as  inspirer)  he  always 
found  a  warm  welcome;  and  the  commencement 
days,  when  as  official  head  of  the  college  he  gave 
their  diplomas  to  these  young  women,  were  among 
the  most  picturesque  in  his  earnest  life;  for  of  all 
the  things  which  he  had  done,  and  helped  to  do,  he 
seemed  to  be  proudest  of  this  one,  and  to  take  in  it 
a  more  unalloyed  satisfaction. 

A  MOTHER  OF  MANY  CHILDREN. 

Nor  will  the  picture  be  complete  without  a  brief 
reference  to  Mrs.  Wheeler's  part  in  this  same  work; 
for  like  most  other  missionary  wives  she  took  a  deep 
interest  in  almost  everything  that  interested  her 
"better-half;"  making  up  for  her  lack  of  interest  in 
some  things  by  the  greatness  of  her  interest  in 
others.  And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  Mrs.  Wheeler 
was  generally  called  "Mamma"  all  through  the 
schools  (by  both  boys  and  girls);  and  with  over  five 

♦This  was  wholly  left  to  the  lady  teachers  from  America. 


352  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

hundred  children  around  her  all  the  time,  besides 
hundreds  who  had  gone  away,  hers  was  indeed  a 
busy  life;  for  even  dignified  professors  and  young- 
lady  teachers  sometimes  like  to  have  a  "mother"  to 
whom  they  can  go  for  occasional  help  and  cheer. 

But,  as  with  other  mothers,  so  with  this  one,  paint 
brushes,  clothes-closets,  medicine  chests,  keepsakes, 
entertainments  and  even  chastenings  were  important 
helps  in  the  work  she  did;  giving  to  many  an  out  of 
the  way  corner  a  homelike  turn  which  even  the 
saintliest  of  men  or  of  unmarried  women  would  have 
been  quite  apt  to  overlook! 

And  in  the  boys'  department,  as  well  as  the  girls', 
this  enterprising  mother  took  a  hand  occasionally 
in  teaching,  being  a  most  enthusiastic  teacher  of 
Daniel  and  of  general  history;  and  even  ot  drawing 
and  painting,  when  an  occasional  pupil  turned  up 
with  a  marked  native  talent  for  such  studies.  While 
the  boys'  gymnastics  (in  earlier  years)  she  taught 
by  first  teaching  her  husband  at  home  (I  Cor.  14:35); 
a  comical  illustration  of  the  way  in  which  in  modern 
life  we  have  to  add  to  Paul's  command,  "Obey  your 
husbands,"  the  corresponding  truth,  "Obey  your 
wives,"  of  which  there  was  hardly  ever  any  need  of 
Paul's  speaking  in  the  good  old  times  of  long  ago. 

RELIGIOUS  CHARACTER  OF  THE  SCHOOL.       . 

But  turning  now  to  the  religious  life  of  the  Girls' 
College,  as  distinguished  from  the  Boys',  we  notice 
first  of  all  that  personal  work  for  individuals  was 
more  prominent  in  the  female  department  than  in 
the  male. 


MRS.  S.  A.  WHEELER. 


A  GLANCE  AT  FEMALE  EDUCATION.  353 

Nor  is  this  to  be  wondered  at;  for  the  peculiar  in- 
stincts of  womanhood  often  give  to  women  a  taste 
for  personal  religious  work,  and  a  skill  in  doing  it, 
which  men  are  much  more  likely  to  lack.  But 
that  does  not  excuse  our  utter  masculine  neglect  of 
such  work;  or  at  best  our  tendency  to  do  it  only 
spasmodically  and  occasionally.  For  by  persistent 
effort,  we  can  in  more  round-about  ways  influence 
individual  character  just  as  strongly  as  women  do; 
though  not  quite  as  evidently,  And  the  world 
seems  to  be  rapidly  approaching  a  point  where  some 
great  dangers  can  be  warded  off  only  by  a  vast 
amount  of  personal  work  in  the  moulding  of  souls 
one  by  one. 

In  the  female  department  we  also  find  a  pleasant 
custom  of  having  the  girls  from  time  to  time  report 
privately  some  nice  bit  of  good  news  about  some- 
body else;  adding,  if  they  choose,  some  piece  of 
like  good  news  from  their  own  lives.  And  though 
we  do  not  know  how  generally  and  systematically 
this  private  reporting  was  practiced,  we  do  know 
that  for  some  years  there  was  a  Good  News  Com- 
mittee in  the  Junior  Christian  Endeavor  Society,  and 
each  girl  on  the  committee  seemed  to  enjoy  very 
much  the  weekly  reporting  to  her  teachers  of  the 
good  news  items  she  had  collected. 

Here  too  we  find  missionary  societies,  founded  by 
Mrs.  Wheeler  and  others,  in  each  of  the  depart- 
ments, raising  money  to  be  sent  as  a  love  token  to 
South  Africa;  while  after  the  massacres  South  Africa 
in  turn  sent  back  an  offering  for  the  use  of  the  poor 

(23) 


354  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

suffering  ones  at  Harpoot.  Thus  illustrating  strik- 
ingly but  simply  the  deepening  and  uplifting  power 
of  that  international  love  of  which  all  true  foreign 
missionary  work  is  an  expression  and  a  deepener. 
For  while  even  the  friends  of  missions  may  at  times 
be  narrow  and  uncharitable;  this  much  is  certain 
that  their  love  of  missions  makes  them  less  narrow 
than  they  would  have  been  without  it;  and  however 
dogmatic  some  of  them  may  be,  they  are  never  half 
as  narrow  or  dogmatic  as  are  those  who  are  hostile 
to  missions. 

THE  KINDERGARTEN  DEPARTMENT. 

The  Kindergarten  department  also  deserves  spe- 
cial mention,  serving  as  it  does  to  uplift  and  change 
the  people's  ideas  of  childhood  and  of  play.  —  But 
we  feel  compelled  to  point  out  one  serious  defect  in 
some  of  the  details  of  this  department;  namely  that 
too  many  costly  imported  helps  were  used,  of  a  sort 
which  no  outside  school  and  no  private  family  could 
ever  dream  of  using;  and,  secondly,  both  here  and 
in  some  of  the  higher  departments  too  many  exer- 
cises were  introduced  which  only  a  trained  Ameri- 
can teacher  could  properly  superintend. 

This  surely  was  a  misfortune  in  a  school  all  the 
details  of  which  should  be  so  planned  as  to  develop 
and  utilize  native  talent,  and  introduce  methods  of 
teaching  which  any  wide-awake  pupil  could  turn 
round  and  reproduce  elsewhere,  wherever  he  or  she 
might  teach;  besides  needlessly  increasing  the  cost 
of  the  school  to  the  American    churches;    for   the 


A  GLANCE  AT  FEMALE  EDUCATION.  355 

college  endowment  supported  only  the  thirty  native 
teachers  (male  and  female)  and  one  American  pres- 
ident; but  not  the  young  lady  teachers  from 
America. 

Yet  let  no  one  suppose  that  we  are  here  even  by 
implication,  criticising  the  kindergartens  of  Japan; 
for  in  Japan,  as  experience  shows,  the  passion  for 
Western  ideas  is  so  great,  and  the  general  prosperity 
of  the  people  so  much  greater  than  in  Turkey,  that 
even  the  most  costly  of  our  primary  school  helps 
can  be  easily  introduced  there,  as  they  cannot  be 
among  the  much  poorer  people  of  Turkey;  and  cir- 
cumstances certainly  alter  cases;  though  in  some 
matters  of  higher  education  we  do  feel  that  Japan 
too  has  erred,  these  errors  accounting  in  part  for 
her  recent  backset. 

Yet  while  criticising  some  of  the  class  room  meth- 
ods of  the  girls'  college  at  Harpoot,  we  are  glad  to 
be  able  to  report  a  most  marked  respect  for  the  tra- 
ditions of  the  country  in  most  matters  where  poverty 
or  the  natural,  healthy,  inevitable  slowness  of  human 
nature  makes  any  sudden  or  great  change  impossi- 
ble or  dangerous;  care  being  taken  to  insist  strongly 
only  on  such  occidental  improvements  as  even  an 
untrained  oriental  mind  can  quite  easily  recognize 
as  such,*  (I  Cor.  8:13.) 

*An  interesting  feature  of  the  dormitories,  new  to  the  writer,  though  not 
original  with  Harpoot,  is  that  every  girl  has  a  little  dressing  room  (open  at 
the  top)  all  to  herself,  for  use  in  dressing  and  for  prayer  and  solitude  when 
tired  or  lonely  or  cross;  though  economy,  and  a  fear  of  unhtting  them  for 
their  crowded  homes  later  on,  necessitates  the  use  or  regular  dormitories  for 
sleeping  purposes. 


356  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

A  Word  as  to  Money  Matters. 

But  in  any  large  enterprise  one  of  the  first  and 
one  of  the  last  questions  is,  "Who  shall  pay  the 
bills?"  and  as  we  have  shown  elsewhere  it  is  a  ques- 
tion of  most  far-reaching  importance. 

To  this  question,  then,  the  Harpoot  answer  was: 
"Either  the  girl  herself  or  her  friends  should  sooner 
or  later  pay  most  of  her  bills  in  most  cases,"  except- 
ing of  course  the  full  cost  of  tuition  in  the  higher 
grades,  which  even  in  America  is  nearly  always  paid 
in  part  by  endowments.  And  we  have  seen  in  the 
earlier  parts  of  this  chapter  how  by  a  careful  exclu- 
sion of  covetous  men's  daughters  and  of  those  who 
were  not  fitted  for  some  form  of  active  Christian  ser- 
vice, they  gradually  created  the  public  opinion 
which  made  this  ideal  of  self-support  a  really  feasi- 
ble rule  of  practice.  In  speaking  of  the  boys'  col- 
lege we  have  also  given  further  hints.  But  there 
still  remain  a  few  additional  details,  tested  by  long 
experience  and  well  worthy  of  mention. 

One  of  these  is  that  the  missionaries  early  learned 
that  it  is  often  easier  for  fathers  and  mothers  to 
give  towels,  shoes,  stockings,  home-made  dresses, 
soap,  wheat,  dried  bread,  bedding,  etc.,  than  to  give 
the  money  for  all  these.* 

♦And  we  are  informed  on  good  authority  (The  S.  S.  Times  for  August  26, 
1899)  that  even  in  Oklahoma  Territory  a  Sunday  school  was  recently  run  one 
whole  year  "on  eggs;"  when  a  year  of  inexperience,  followed  by  a  year  of 
drought,  made  money  very  scarce  among  the  new  settlers;  though  eggs  were 
plenty,  and  "almost  anyone  could  spare  one  or  two."  For  though  there  was 
only  one  hat-full  the  first  Sunday;  there  were  four  hats-full  the  next;  and 
from  that  time  on  the  supply  was  steady  and  abundant;  "many  of  the  eggs 
being  sent  or  brought  by  people  who  had  never  been  near  the  Sunday 
school  before."  —  Till  at  last  money  again  became  more  plenty;  and  eggs 
were  no  more  needed. 


A  GLANCE  AT  FEMALE  EDUCATION.  357 

Secondly,  that  dividing  the  year  into  several  short 
terms  made  it  much  easier  for  the  poor  and  the 
stingy,  especially  as  in  many  cases  they  were 
strongly  advised  not  to  send  their  daughters  at  first 
more  than  one  short  term  each  year;  with  the  un- 
derstanding that  on  their  home  behavior  during  the 
rest  of  the  year  would  largely  depend  their  coming 
again  or  no.* 

Thirdly,  they  were  careful  not  to  imitate  too 
closely  those  schools  in  which  each  girl  is  only  made 
to  do  on  a  hatefully  large  scale,  some  one  kind  of 
domestic  work  in  which  she  happens  to  be  profi- 
cient; and  had  instead  "revolving  circles,"  in  which 
each  girl,  with  the  help  of  others,  older  and  young- 
er, and  of  a  teacher,  would  have  a  chance  to  do  and 
learn  many  different  kinds  of  housework,  thus  making 
the  school  one  of  which  even  a  very  illiterate  moth- 
er could  more  easily  see  and  appreciate  the  results. 

For  the  benefit  of  those  who  could  not  buy  books, 
there  was  also  a  Loaning  Library  of  text  books 
from  which  books  could  be  drawn  by  the  poorer 
scholars  at  very  slight  cost.  A  small  circulating 
library,  free  to  all,  also  furnished  the  scholars  with 
suitable  reading  matter,  outside  of  text  books. 

HOUSE  TO  HOUSE  VISITATION. 

But  our  "Glance  at  Female  Education"  would  be 
painfully  incomplete  without  at  least  a  brief  men- 
tion of  that  work  of  house  to  house  visitation,  mostly 
among   women  and    by    women,    which    has,    down 

*Some  schools  have  gone  so  far  as  to  divide  the  board  bill  into  monthly 
installments;  though  we  do  not  yet  know  with  what  success. 


358  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

through  the  years,  been  becoming  a  more  and  more 
important  element  in  missionary  work  the  world 
round;  for  in  Harpoot,  as  elsewhere,  this  work  has 
come  into  more  systematic  prominence  as  the  years 
have  gone  by,  there  being  now  two  unmarried  lady 
missionaries  and  a  large  number  of  native  Bible 
women  who  devote  their  strength  almost  wholly  to 
this  work;  whereas  in  earlier  years  it  was  only  one 
of  the  more  important  incidentals  to  be  crowded  in 
after  other  work  was  done  by  the  busy  wives  of 
missionaries  and  pastors. 

But  while  this  is  a  proper  place  to  emphasize  the 
importance  of  this  kind  of  work,  it  would  not  be  a 
proper  place  to  enter  much  into  details  in  regard  to 
it;  for  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wheeler's  time  was  so 
full  of  other  forms  of  missionary  work,  that  this 
one  was  largely  left  to  others,  except  in  those  earli- 
er years  when  it  had  no  special  systematic  signifi- 
cance, except  as  an  expression  of  good  will  and  a 
help  in  getting  acquainted  with  the  people. 

And  yet  one  highly  pertinent  remark  we  do  re- 
member to  have  heard  Mr.  Wheeler  make,  namely 
that  the  women  visited  should  in  some  way  be  set  to 
work  for  Christ;  for  very  little  good  could  come  from 
mere  social  calls,  except  in  the  very  earliest  stages  of  the 
work. 

We  are  also  informed  by  Miss  Bush,  one  of  the 
traveling  lady  missionaries,  that  even  the  house  to 
house  Bible  Reading  Lessons,  given  to  women  at 
their  own  homes,  by  "Bible  women,"  so  called,  are 
often  paid  for,  in  part,  in  wheat,  bread,  rice,  stock- 
ings, etc.;  thus  making  even  their  Bible  study  more 


A  GLANCE  AT  FEMALE  EDUCATION.  359 

helpful  and  more  earnest  than  it  would  have  been 
had  a  teacher  been  offered  them  wholly  free. — 
While  among  the  lessons  given  to  their  pupils  it  is 
pleasant  to  notice  the  learning  of  hymns  and  Bible 
verses  and  also  friendly  talks  on  questions  of  family 
government  and  self-government. 

And  it  is  also  pleasant  to  remember  how  in  a 
round-about  way  Mr.  Wheeler  did  a  great  deal  for 
women  and  girls  in  the  Harpoot  field;  for  one  of  the 
commonest  questions  which  he  pressed  on  the  men 
he  met,  was,  "What  are  you  doing  for  your  family? 
and  why  doesn't  your  wife  come  to  the  Hanum's 
meeting?"*  often  getting  them  to  promise  that  the 
wife  should  come,  if  they  could  get  her  to,  or  should 
learn  to  read,  if  she  wanted  to;  and  so  on. 

And  generally  she  did  come;  for  this  strange 
Badvelli's||  interest  seemed  to  her  a  great  compli- 
ment, especially  when  she  heard  and  saw  what  a 
wonderful  wife  the  badvelli  had. 

♦Hanum  means  lady,  and  refers  here  to  the  missionary's  wife. 
llHonorable,  i.  e.,  missionary;  used  also  for  native  pastors. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

GROWING  OLD  AND  GOING   HOME. 

BLESSINGS  OF  OLD  AGE. 

But  at  last  old  age  came  upon  this  active  man, 
that  great  change  in  life  which  we  all  so  dread,  and 
yet  without  which  life  is  often  sadly  incomplete. 
But  to  him  it  seemed  as  though  old  age  itself  were 
making  it  incomplete,  and  he  longed  with  unutter- 
able longing  for  "ten  years  more  of  service;"  mean- 
ing thereby  such  active  service  in  touring  and  public 
preaching  as  he  had  done  in  years  gone  by,  especially 
in  the  days  of  his  youth. 

But  a  kinder  and  more  far-seeing  providence  said, 
No;  and  gave  him  instead  ten  years  more  of  slowly 
increasing  pain,  by  the  side  of  which,  unseen  at  first, 
was  a  slowly  deepening  vein  of  greater  usefulness 
and  peace  than  even  he  had  known  in  his  earlier 
life.  And  he  who  in  the  intensity  of  his  energy  had 
in  years  gone  by  defied  Herod  in  his  palace,  and 
robbers  in  their  mountain  fortresses,  and  raging  fires 
in  the  market  place,  became  so  weak  that  only  with 
an  effort,  and  finally  not  at  all,  could  he  walk  forth 
from  his  own  home;  and  it  seemed  to  him  that  his 
days  of  usefulness  were  o'er. 

But  lo  a  change  crept  over  the  face  of  the  earth; 

and  many  who  in  the  years  gone  by  had  taken  his 

360 


GROWING  OLD.  361 

good  advice  very  reluctantly  began  now  to  ask  for 
it;  and  others,  who  had  taken  his  part  only  timidly, 
became  more  bold  and  consistent  in  pressing  the 
principles  for  which  he  had  pled  so  often.  For  by  a 
curious  weakness  in  human  nature  our  blessings 
often  grow  more  precious  when  access  to  them  be- 
comes more  difficult;  and  the  advice  given  us  yes- 
terday is  often  more  precious  today  than  it  was  when 
first  received.  For  time  often  makes  even  neglected 
advice  take  root  and  blossom. 

But  in  Mr.  Wheeler's  case  there  was  still  another 
element  in  the  problem,  namely  that  he  himself, 
though  unable  to  do  much  active  service,  was  still 
helping  on  the  work  of  reconsidering  and  replant- 
ing, which  was  going  on  in  other  lives  around  him; 
for  he  himself,  without  fully  realizing  it,  was  at 
many  a  vital  point  softening  and  perfecting  and 
deepening  the  very  conceptions  of  life  and  duty  for 
which  he  had  so  earnestly  pled;  and  each  little 
change  for  the  better  won  some  new  convert,  who 
had  been  previously  almost  convinced,  but  not  con- 
verted ! 

And  oh  how  often  does  this  happen  in  life,  that 
by  some  slight  misstatement  men  are  kept  apart 
who  at  heart  are  almost  wholly  one,  and  only  wait- 
ing for  one  more  step  to  bring  them  into  the  closest 
fellowship.  Let  us  then  look  briefly  at  some  of 
these  lessons  of  old  age. 

THE  LESSONS  OF  OLD  AGE. 

First  and  foremost  among  these  was  a  more  perfect 
trust  in  God,     For  in  the  years  gone  by  his  trust  had 


362  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

been  that  of  one  who  really  loves  his  Master,  but 
finds  it  hard  to  "only  stand  and  wait"  even  at  the 
Master's  bidding. 

Hence,  side  by  side  of  his  intense  love  and  energy, 
there  had  always  been  a  vein  of  restlessness  which 
often  offended  less  earnest  and  less  loving  souls, 
and  discouraged  less  energetic  ones.  And  this  made 
some  of  them  doubt  or  rather  discount  his  whole 
philosophy,  because  of  the  incidental  defects  which 
his  untamed  energy  put  into  it. 

But  when  they  found  that  his  work  still  lived  on 
and  prospered  after  he  left  it,  and  that  he  himself 
was  not  as  fundamentally  and  totally  and  incurably 
one-sided  as  they  in  their  ignorance  had  supposed, 
his  teachings  became  more  comprehensible,  and  his 
hearers  more  teachable;  and  a  single  talk  would  of- 
ten convince  men  who  had  not  before  been  con- 
vinced by  fifty. 

For  with  him,  as  with  all  other  old  people, 
the  ruling  passion  of  his  life  became  more  and 
more  evident  as  the  years  went  by;  and  as  some  old 
people's  lives  remind  one  with  awful  vividness  of 
of  hell,  so  his  reminded  men  more  and  more  plainly 
of  heaven,  and  of  the  fact  that  love  had  been  the 
ruling  passion  of  his  life,  all  through,  even  if  at 
times  that  love  had  been  too  stern  and  silent. 

And  so  men's  lives  were  softened  and  their  ears 
opened;  for  men  always  listen  more  closely  to  a 
man  whom  they  know  to  be  a  friend,  and  not  a  mere 
sharp-witted  and  unanswerable  critic.  For  in  this 
world   even    true    lovers  of  men    are  more  or   less 


GROWING  OLD.  363 

crippled,  until  the  ones  they  wish  to  help  discover 
that  they  are  such.  And,  although  the  people  at 
large  had  felt  the  spell  of  Mr.  Wheeler's  love  all 
along,  yet  there  remained  a  considerable  number  of 
Pauls  and  Thomases  and  Nicodemuses  who  were  not 
convinced  till  long  after  his  message  was  first  heard; 
and  these  were  the  ones  that  his  old  age  moved 
most  mightily. 

And  yet,  strange  to  say,  some  of  these  had  known 
him  even  from  boyhood;  and  all  along  had  loved 
him  more  or  less;  and  still  had  attributed  all  his 
earlier  successes  more  to  mere  energy  and  luck  than 
to  any  exceptional  insight  or  grasp  of  truth. 

Here  too  mention  should  be  made  of  the  fact  that 
in  old  age  he  became  a  little  less  silent  in  regard  to 
his  own  deeper  life  than  he  had  been  in  years  gone 
by;  thus  making  it  easier  for  men  to  see  him  as  he 
was.  For  though  excessive  talkativeness  is  gener- 
ally a  worse  fault  than  excessive  silence;  a  tendency 
to  go  to  either  extreme  is  unfortunate  in  one  whose 
work  it  is  to  win  men  for  Christ. 

But  perhaps  the  most  curious  change  of  all,  in 
these  later  years,  was  a  steadily  deepening  respect 
for  young  men.  For  strange  to  say  this  great  inno- 
vator was  in  all  his  earlier  years  more  inclined  to 
idolize  elderly  people  than  younger  men  and  women; 
and  more  apt  to  underestimate  the  powers  of  the 
young  than  of  those  more  advanced  in  life.  So  that 
when  in  old  age  he  came  at  last  to  understand  young 
men  more  fully,  this  also  gave  him  a  power  over 
them  which  he  had  never  had  before. 


364  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

And  though  it  is  not  true  that  the  world's  wisest 
and  most  complexly  difficult  deeds  are  generally  done 
by  young  men,  (as  distinguished  from  deeds  which 
are  simply  dashing  and  brilliant,)  still  it  is  true  that 
all  the  world's  greatest  New  Thoughts  are  apt  to 
bud  and  blossom  between  the  ages  of  twenty  and 
thirty-five.  Hence  young  men,  in  spite  of  their 
faults,  certainly  do  deserve  a  large  amount  of  con- 
sideration and  respect;  and  as  Mr.  Wheeler,  without 
losing  any  of  his  respect  for  old  age,  added  to  it  a 
greater  respect  for  youth,  he  was  rewarded  with  an 
increase  of  power  and  influence,  for  which  even  he 
found  it  hard  to  account. 

Thus  was  it  that  the  victories  of  old  age  were 
even  greater  than  those  of  his  earlier  life;  and  the 
words  of  Prof.  Austin  Phelps  are  again  proved  true 
when  he  says  that,  'The  work  which  a  Christian  man 
does  in  the  closing  years  of  his  life  often  has  in  it  a 
spiritual  vitality  which  even  the  busiest  years  of  his 
earlier  life  had  not;  and  that  some  of  God's  best 
uses  of  a  man  may  come  after  he  himself  begins  to 
feel  most  useless.' 

THE  MASSACRES  OF  1895. 

Among  the  experiences  of  these  later  years  one  stands  out 
so  prominently  that  we  must  give  it  special  mention,  namely 
the  massacres  of  1895. 

For  many  years  the  cause  of  liberty  and  of  justice  had  been 
Slowly  and  yet  surely  gaining  ground  in  that  dark  land.  But 
even  to  the  very  slowest  progress  the  more  bigoted  portion  of 
the  ruling  Turkish  race,  objected  seriously;  while  the  more 
restless  portion  of  the  subject  races  also  kept  up  a  constant 
buzz  of  brag  and  seditious  discontent  which  helped  to  make 


GROWING  OLD.  365 

matters  still  worse.  And  so  the  weaker  and  blinder  elements 
of  both  races,  the  Christian  and  the  Mohammedan,  without  the 
approval  of  the  more  sober-minded  and  far-seeing  elements  in 
either  race,  finally  brought  matters  to  such  a  pitch,  that  Turk- 
ish brutality  and  lust  once  more  broke  out  in  massacre,  doubt- 
less led  on  by  crafty  and  hellish  men  in  positions  of  high 
authority,  both  at  Constantinople  and  all  through  the  empire. 

For  thus  far  in  the  course  of  history  the  Turkish  government 
has  succeeded  several  times  in  strengthening  its  hold  for  a 
while  by  these  periodic  massacres. 

Thus  was  it  that  the  bloodshed  finally  reached  Harpoot  City, 
on  the  nth  of  November,  1895,  after  having  desolated  many 
other  parts  of  Turkey,  and  scores  of  Harpoot's  outlying 
villages.  For  several  days  refugees  from  the  outlying  districts 
had  been  gathering  there,  all  of  them  robbed  of  home  and  food 
and  friends,  and  many  of  them  even  of  the  clothes  they  wore, 
while  the  prettiest  women  were  many  of  them  captives  in 
Turkish  harems,  and  the  homlier  ones  alas  too  often  widowed 
and  then  dishonored  and  left  to  starve  or  beg. 

Yet  the  missionaries  kept  on  hoping  that  somehow  or  other 
the  city  would  escape;  for  the  government  had  promised  to 
protect  them.  But  when  the  eventful  day  came  at  last  they 
found  that  the  soldiers  stationed  near  them  were  simply  meant 
to  help  the  mob,  instead  of  restraining  them,  and  that  even 
missionary  homes  were  open  to  plunder  and  fire;  missionary 
lives  alone  being  protected  in  a  very  half-hearted  way.  While 
for  the  poor  people  (excepting  those  who  clung  close  to  the 
missionaries)  the  missionaries  were  powerless  to  do  a  single 
thing,  till  the  worst  of  the  massacres  was  over. 

Nor  were  the  missionaries  themselves  really  out  of  danger; 
for  as  Mr.  Wheeler  was  borne  helpless  from  one  burning  house 
to  another,  bullets  and  cannon  balls,  from  government  cannon, 
were  fallin  ground  him  constantly,  and  one  of  the  most  daring 
of  their  plunderers  even  sought  directly  to  take  his  life. 

But  God  still  had  a  work  for  him  to  do  on  this  cold,  suffering 
earth;  and  so,  with  nearly  five  hundred  others,  he  found  him- 
self a  prisoner  at  last  in  the  beautiful  stone  structure  (of  un- 


366  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

hewn  stone  and  mortar)  which  he  himself  had  built  for  the 
male  department  of  the  College. 

But  even  here  death  stared  them  in  the  face;  for,  satisfied 
that  it  would  be  foolhardy  to  face  the  angry  mob  again  with 
such  a  crowd  of  helpless  followers;  and  utterly  cowardly  to 
desert  them  and  accept  offered  protection  "for  themselves 
alone,"  the  missionaries  decided  to  stay  right  where  they  were, 
though  every  moment  expecting  to  see  the  inside  of  the  struc- 
ture enveloped  in  a  mass  of  flames. 

But  finally  this  danger  was  also  averted;  and  a  fire  engine 
(sent  out  only  a  few  months  before)  with  the  water  from 
the  reservoir  built  three  years  before  with  money 
raised  by  Mrs.  Wheeler  while  lecturing  in  Iowa  and  some 
other  states,  saved  four  out  of  the  twelve  buildings  of  the  mis- 
sion premises;  and  for  a  while  at  least  there  was  quiet. 

And  yet  I  doubt  not  that  then  it  was  that  the  worst  suffering 
came;  for  it  seemed  to  them  that  all  their  work  was  in  ruins. 
For  the  Turks  had  tried  to  kill  first  and  foremost  the  religious 
leaders  of  the  various  communities;  and  the  people's  schools 
and  churches  were  always  among  the  first  structures  to  be  at- 
tacked and  burned.  And  yet  after  a  while  hope  rallied  and 
our  dear  ones  could  rest  once  more  m  a  God,  who  finally 
thwarts  evil,  even  when  in  his  wisdom  he  does  not  at  once 
Prevent  it. 

FINAL  RETURN   TO  AMERICA. 

But  though  the  calmness  shown  by  Mr.  Wheeler 
in  the  midst  of  the  massacre  and  during  the  apparent 
destruction  of  his  life  work  was  truly  wonderful;  the 
nerve  strain  had  been  too  great,  and  his  home  with 
all  its  comforts  had  also  been  swept  away;  and  so 
the  missionaries,  feeling  that  his  last  days  should  not 
be  passed  in  the  midst  of  so  great  danger  and  dis- 
comfort, and  that  his  wife  and  daughter  were  needed 
to  tell  the  tale  of  distress  in  America,  strongly  ad- 
vised leaving  Harpoot.     So  that  he  who  had  hoped 


GROWING  OLD.  3^7 

to  die  near  the  work  he  loved  consented  to  return 
again  to  America,  to  spend  his  closing  days. 

And  in  May,  1896,  amid  much  weeping,  he  was 
borne  forth  by  his  own  corps  of  professors  to  the 
emigrant  wagon  which  was  to  take  him  to  the  dis- 
tant sea-coast,  a  beloved  fellow  missionary.  Rev.  Eg- 
bert Smythe  Ellis,  now  also  in  heaven,  going  with 
him  to  the  coast,  to  care  for  him  and  his  along  the 
way. 

And  thus  with  an  escort  of  Turkish  troops  and 
guardian  angels,  this  dear  veteran  began  his  journey 
home,  nineteen  days  by  land  and  two  days  by  sea 
bringing  him  to  Constantinople,  where  for  a  while 
we  must  leave  him  and  take  a  brief  farewell  look  at 
the  land  he  was  leaving. 

THE  MEANING  OF  THESE  MASSACRES. 

For  the  question  must  be  answered  if  possible,  What  mean 
these  massacres?  and  what  good  can  possibly  come  of  them? — 
These  questions  we  shall  simply  answer  in  brief,  referring  the 
reader  to  more  strictly  historical  works  for  the  proofs  of  what 
we  say. 

First  then  great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  overlook  the 
fact  that  the  Turkish  government  in  its  official  capacity  was 
itself  one  of  the  parties  that  planned  and  helped  to  execute 
the  massacres,  in  hopes  of  thereby  strengthening  its  hold  on 
the  empire;  and  that  temporarily  it  has  doubtless  gained  in 
apparent  strength  by  its  hellish  brutality. 

But  secondly  we  should  be  equally  careful  to  remember  the 
less  widely  known  fact  that  even  among  the  Turks,  both 
civilians  and  officials,  there  were  some  to  whom  such  massa- 
cres were  utterly  abhorrent;  one  of  these,  an  officer  high  in 
command,  having  once  remarked  to  a  missionary,  "If  our 
superiors  would  only  let  us,  oh  how  gladly  and  easily  we  could 


s 
368  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

stop  this  bloodshed."  But  unfortunately  that  is  just  what  his 
higher  officers  did  not  want  him  to  do.  And  yet,  in  ordinary 
times  of  peace,  these  more  true-hearted  among  her  rulers  have 
no  insignificant  influence;  and  to  them,  under  God,  Turkey 
owes  not  a  little  of  her  slowly  increasing  liberty. 

But,  thirdly,  we  should  not  forget  that  the  gain  in  power  to 
the  Ottoman  Empire  from  such  massacres  as  these  has  always 
been  only  temporary  and  apparent.  For  it  is  such  massacres 
as  these  that  have  slowly  forced  Europe  to  allow  one  province 
after  another  to  be  torn  away  from  her  by  her  honest  and  dis- 
honest rivals;  and  worse  still,  her  triumphs  have  been  too  much 
like  those  of  the  man  who  conquered  his  son  by  putting  out  his 
eyes.  He  soon  found  out  that  somehow  or  other,  the  fool  knew 
not  how,  matters  on  the  farm  did  not  seem  to  get  along  as  well 
as  formerly,  though  he  had  just  as  many  farm  hands. 

And  thus  it  is  that  the  Sultan  has  time  and  again  crippled 
his  own  financial  and  manufacturing  resources  in  his  hot  zeal 
to  fully  tame  the  hated  Christian  races. 

GOD'S  OVERRULING  HAND. 

But  lastly  let  us  inquire  what  lessons  these  massacres  are 
likely  to  teach  to  the  Christian  races  who  are  the  life  blood  of 
the  empire;  and  ultimately  sure  to  have  a  hand  in  ruling  it? 
We  believe  that  it  will  help  them  to  more  effectually  overcome 
that  wide-spread  tendency  to  simply  brag  and  promise  which 
has  so  often  brought  them  sorrow  in  lesser  matters;  and  seems 
to  be  a  very  common  fault  among  races  that  have  long  been 
subject.  For  any  one  who  has  closely  looked  into  the  matter, 
can  hardly  fail  to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  their  excessive 
love  of  defiant  national  songs  and  essays,  and  of  secret  societies, 
impotent  but  high  sounding,  did  certainly  hasten  these  massa- 
cres, though  by  no  means  justifying  them;  but  without  bringing 
to  the  subject  races  any  compensating  benefit,  such  as  would 
have  come  from  less  boastful,  but  more  practical  organizations 
for  improving  or  else  enforcing  existing  laws  in  the  interests 
of  slow  but  real  progress. 

Nor  is  this  meant  as  a  wholesale  criticism  of  the  Christian 
races;  but  simply  of  the  ruling  faction  among  them,  who  I  be- 


GROWING  OLD.  369 

lieve  in  years  to  come  will  have  far  less  influence  than  they 
have  had  in  years  gone  by;  thus  leaving  their  people  open  to 
the  leadership  of  wiser  but  quieter  states?7ie?i,  of  whom  there  are 
eveji  now  not  a  few  in  the  viore  silent  background. 

But  some  one  asks,  Why  should  the  innocent  suffer  along 
with  the  guilty?  To  which  God's  providential  answer  seems 
to  be,  Because  by  suffering  they  acquire  the  power  to  help 
many  a  friend  in  trouble,  whom  they  never  could  have  helped, 
had  they  not  learned  to  suffer /^r  others'  good  so  heroically; 
and  so  in  the  end  life  is  made  brighter  and  sweeter  for  them  all. 

And  thus  the  devilishness  of  God's  enemies  is  overruled  to 
the  advancement  of  his  work  of  love;  and  men  are  taught  not 
only  that  "Some  things  work  together  for  good  to  them  that 
love  God;"  but  that  "all  things"  do.  And  where  the  hardest 
lessons  come  last,  you  will  always  find  that  the  greatest  bless- 
ings always  come  last  too.  And  thus  was  it  that  Mr.  Wheeler, 
and  many  another  loved  follower  of  Christ,  learned  even  with 
tears  in  their  eyes  to  better  understand  the  Master  and  the 
world  he  came  to  save;  and  the  more  they  suffered  themselves, 
the  more  they  loved  others,  or  at  least  the  more  plainly  and 
helpfully  they  let  that  love  be  seen.  So  that  some  even 
among  the  Turks  were  quietly  won  to  Christ,  and  confessed 
him  openly  before  men;  though  the  time  had  not  yet  come 
when  they  could  wisely  do  it  publicly. 

In  Constantinople  Mr.  Wheeler  made  no  landing 
but  was  simply  transferred  from  one  steamer  to  an- 
other; and  after  a  farewell  gathering  of  missionaries 
and  others  on  ship-board,  (Miss  Barton  of  the  Red 
Cross  being  one  ot  the  party,)  he  and  his  wife  and 
daughter  started  for  the  beautiful  shores  of  Italy, 
whence  they  hoped  to  sail  at  once  for  New  York. 
But  circumstances  compelled  a  delay;  and  so  eight 
restful  days  were  spent  in  the  dear  old  city  of  Genoa, 
where  for  one  of  the  few  times  in  his  life  Mr. 
Wheeler  seemed  to  thoroughly  enjoy  sight-seeing; 

(24) 


370  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

for  though  unable  to  leave  his  carriage,  he  now,  for 
the  first  time  in  a  long  and  busy  life,  found  himself 
free  enough  from  great  and  intensely  absorbing  re- 
sponsibilities not  to  begrudge  the  time  it  took,  and 
his  seventh  visit  to  Europe  was  the  first  in  which 
sight-seeing  was  a  part  of  his  programme  ! 

And  well  does  this  illustrate  the  intensity  of  the 
man,  and  the  amount  of  hard,  close  thought  which 
it  required  to  see  through  the  great  and  perplexing 
problems  on  which  he  had  thrown  so  much  light. 
But  now  he  felt  more  free,  and  it  seemed  to  him  and 
to  others  as  though  he  had  been  promoted  to  the 
primary  class  of  heaven;  and  so  his  natural  love  ot 
beauty  awoke  once  more  in  all  its  native  strength; 
though  as  an  undertone  it  had  run  all  through  his 
life,  and  given  it  a  steadiness  which  mere  intensity 
and  zeal  could  never  have  given. 

From  G^noa  he  took  the  steamer  for  New  York; 
and  so  full  of  peace  and  hope  and  love  was  this  old 
man's  face  that  even  the  kind  captain  of  the  ship 
declared  that  his  presence  among  them  had  been  a 
benediction,  long  to  be  remembered. 

LAST  DAYS  IN  AMERICA. 

Physically  too  the  long  sea  voyage  and  the  free- 
dom from  Turkey's  tension  had  toned  up  the  sick 
one,  and  he  was  able  to  sit  up  and  read  more  than 
formerly.  So  that  when  he  settled  down  to  rest  in 
one  of  Boston's  most  beautiful  suburbs,  some  even 
dared  to  hope  for  a  long  and  painless  old  age.  But 
he    himself   lived    one    day    at    a    time,    with   little 


GOING  HOME.  371 

thought  of  the  future,  except  an  occasional  longing 
to  be  with  Jesus,  and  be  at  rest. 

But  in  the  living  present  his  interest  seemed  to  be 
even  keener  than  formerly;  and  as  old  friends  and 
new  came  and  went,  some  of  them  friends  of  his 
boyhood,  others  the  companions  of  his  active  life 
and  still  others  the  pupils  of  his  old  age,  he  had  for 
each  a  message  of  hope  and  cheer,  showing  in  words 
the  love  which  formerly  he  had  only  dared  to  show 
in  deeds.  —  And,  strange  to  say,  he  had  no  dark 
forebodings  about  the  work  in  Turkey;  but  rather 
felt  assured  that,  in  spite  of  all  its  enemies  could  do, 
the  work  of  Christ  in  that  great  empire  would  go  on 
and  bear  abundant  fruit,  even  as  it  has  done,  sooner 
or  later  in  every  land  where  persecution  has  prepared 
the  way  in  its  frantic  attempts  to  make  truth  stand 
still. 

But  though  the  good  doctor  came  often,  and 
proved  a  veritable  angel  of  mercy  and  cheer  to  the 
suffering  one,  the  disease  was  one  of  long  standing 
for  which  medical  science  knows  no  cure,  when  once 
firmly  established,  and  so  Dr.  Wheeler  slowly  grew 
weaker  and  weaker.  Though,  as  the  body  grew 
weaker  his  mind  seemed  to  grow  freer,  and  his  life 
more  and  more  cheerful  and  glad.  Till  at  last  on 
the  eleventh  of  October,  1896,  at  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  he  went  home  once  more;  to  the  home 
above  where  all  is  love  and  joy  and  peace. 

And  on  that  self-same  Sunday,  many  loving 
hearts  who  knew  not  of  his  death  were  united    in 


372  SELF-SUPPORTING  CHURCHES. 

special  prayer  for  the  college  he  loved;*  while  his 
own  loved  ones  were  committed  to  God's  care  by 
the  good  physician  who  had  so  tenderly  ministered 
to  Mr.  Wheeler's  soul  and  body  through  all  those 
later  months  of  pain  and  suffering.  And  1  doubt 
not  that  in  heaven  he  too  was  joining  in  our  prayers, 
and  in  some  larger  way  helping  on  the  work  he  so 
much  loved. 

But  now,  in  closing,  our  minds  come  back  almost 
irresistibly  to  the  old  question.  Why  spend  so  much 
time  and  strength  and  brains  on  foreign  missions? 
and  I  hear  his  oft  repeated  answer:  —  First,  because 
the  Master  bids  it  and  we  surely  can  Irust  him.  — 
And  secondly,  because  there  are  so  many  in  foreign 
lands  who  need  our  help.  —  And,  thirdly,  because, 
by  going  abroad,  it  often  happens  that  we  help  the 
home  churches  more  than  we  could  by  staying  at 
home.  For  some  important  lessons  can  be  learned 
on  mission  soil  better  than  in  America. 

While  to  missionaries  already  on  foreign  soil,  his 
one  absorbing  message  seemed  to  be.  Oh,  let  us 
learn  to  do  our  work  more  skilfully;  and  not  rely 
on  mere  good  intentions  and  untrained  common- 
sense;  or  on  mere  education,  uncontrolled  by  piety 
in  those  to  whom  we  offer  its  higher  privileges.  — 
Surely  such  a  message  is  well  worth  passing  on; 
and  repeating  again  and  again  as  the  years  go  by. 

*The  Topic  on  the  Daily  Prayer  Calendar  of  the  Woman's  Board  of  Mis- 
sions for  October  ii,  1896,  was  Euphrates  College. 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESS. 

By  Rev.  James  L.  Barton, 

Secretary  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.;  and  for  Seven  Years  a  Colleague  of 
Mr.  Wheeler  in  Missionary  Work  at  Harpoot. 


In  1856,  a  candidate  for  missionary  service,  writ- 
ing to  the  Secretary  of  the  American  Board  said,  "I 
should  like  to  join  that  mission  where  I  am  most 
needed  and  can  be  most  useful."  In  answer  to  a 
question,  he  added,  "I  regard  hardship,  suffering 
and  peril  as  to  some  extent  inseparably  connected 
with  mission  work.  I  do  not  lose  sight  of  the 
fact  in  offering  myself  to  the  work,  but  with  Christ 
to  help  me,  I  hope  to  bear  cheerfully  whatever  he 
shall  allot  me."  That  same  year  this  candidate  be- 
came a  missionary  and  on  the  5th  of  January,  1857, 
sailed  with  his  wife  for  Smyrna,  designated  to  what 
was  then  known  as  the  "North  Armenian  Mission." 
They  arrived  at  Smyrna  on  the  2nd  of  March  and 
proceeded  atonce  to  Constantinople,  and  on  the  31st 
of  July  of  the  same  year  they  reached  Harpoot  in 
the  heart  of  Koordistan.  On  the  nth  of  May,  1896, 
thirty-nine  years  later,  this  same  devoted  mission- 
ary and  his  faithful  wife  left  Harpoot,  reaching  the 
shores  of  the  home-land  on  the  29th  of  June;  and  on 
the  nth  of  October,  Sunday  morning,  the  last  voy- 
age was  taken;  the  floods  that  roll  between  were 
crossed;  the  hardships,  sufferings  and  perils  of  the 

373 


374  MEMORIAL  ADDRESS. 

thirty  nine  years  of  devoted  missionary  service  were 
left  behind,  and  the  weary,  pain-racked  body  was 
at  rest. 

This  is  the  brief  outline  of  the  life  of  Rev.  Crosby 
H.  Wheeler,  pioneer  missionary,  evangelist,  educa- 
tor and  general,  whom  we  follow  today  to  his  last 
earthly  resting  place. 

Born  in  Hampden,  Maine,  September  8,  1823,  Mr. 
Wheeler's  life  was  spent  in  that  rugged  state  until 
he  set  out  for  the  east.  He  graduated  from  Bowdoin 
College  in  1847  ^^^  from  Bangor  Theological  Sem- 
inary in  1852.  He  was  ordained  in  Warren,  Maine, 
in  1852,  where  he  served  as  pastor  for  four  years, 
resigning  his  charge  in  1856  for  the  larger  service 
abroad.  In  the  mission  field  he  was  a  general  mis- 
sionary, engaged  in  all  the  varied  forms  of  mission- 
ary work.  In  1878,  he  secured  funds  in  this  coun- 
try for  the  buildings  and  partial  endowment  of  Eu- 
phrates College.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  closely 
identified  with  this  institution  of  growing  influence 
and  power,  and  in  whose  foundations  and  walls  he 
built  his  very  life,  holding  the  position  of  president 
until  increasing  infirmities  compelled  him  to  with- 
draw from  the  active  management  of  the  school; 
but  until  the  day  of  his  summons  home,  he  lost  no 
interest  in  the  success  of  the  great  work  that  the 
college  represents. 

For  thirty-seven  years  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wheeler,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Allen,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Barnum  have  been 
associated  together  in  the  work  at  Harpoot  station. 
They  have  seen  the  work  grow  from  five  licensed 
preachers  and  nine  helpers  to  twenty-six  organized 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESS.  375 

churches,  with  over  2000  members,  and  as  a  work- 
ing force  150  native  pastors,  preachers  and  teachers 
with  4500  pupils  under  Christian  instruction.  In  all 
that  work  the  three  families  have  been  closely  and 
intimately  connected.  The  first  break  in  the  circle 
is  now  made,  as  we  bear  its  oldest  member  to  his 
silent  resting  place.  The  continued,  efficient,  united 
services  of  three  unbroken  families  at  one  station 
for  a  period  of  thirty-seven  years  is  a  fact,  we  be- 
lieve, unique  in  mission  history. 

Let  us  briefly  glance  at  a  few  of  the  leading  facts 
and  characteristics  in  the  life  and  character  of  our 
honored  and  revered  missionary  brother,  father, 
friend,  that  we  may  learn  the  lesson  and  catch  the 
inspiration  that  took  him  from  his  little  parish  in 
the  quiet  serenity  of  Maine's  rural  homes,  carried 
him  far  across  the  seas,  enlarged  his  life  to  make  it 
touch  with  vital  force  a  hundred  times  ten  thousand 
other  lives,  prepared  him  there  to  face  unflinchingly 
the  unrecorded  horrors  of  Turkey's  darkest  night, 
and  then  returned  him  to  this  delightful,  peaceful 
spot  to  breathe  away  his  well-spent  life.  But  the 
life  is  not  breathed  away,  for  it  is  built  into  institu- 
tions that  abide,  and  other  lives,  both  in  this  land 
and  amid  Armenia's  stricken  hamlets  and  smoking 
plains,  are  working  out  the  plan  of  God  revealed  to 
them  by  the  voice  that  speaks  to  us  no  more. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  Mr.  Wheeler  attrib- 
utes his  missionary  zeal  to  his  mother,  who  regularly 
took  him  to  the  missionary  concert  when  a  mere 
lad  —  the  only  child  there  —  where  he  early  caught 
the  conception  of  the  Gospel  for  the  world.     In  a 


376  MEMORIAL  ADDRESS. 

written  statement  made  by  him  in  1856,  he  said,  "I 
owe  it  under  God  to  my  mother  that  I  am  a  Chris- 
tian and  a  minister  and  am  about  to  become  a  for- 
eign missionary."  That  mother's  memory  was  al- 
ways sacred.  For  four  years  he  waited  to  make 
provision  for  her  support  before  leaving  her  in  re- 
sponse to  the  call  from  abroad.  The  dying  message 
of  that  sainted  mother  was,  "Tell  my  son,  God  gave 
me  but  one  boy,  an  only  son,  and  it  is  the  happiest 
thought  of  my  dying  bed  that  he  is  a  missionary." 
How  could  such  a  mother's  son  fail  to  be  a 
worthy  man? 

His  call  to  the  foreign  field  was  unequivocal  and 
the  work  there  was  entered  upon  with  no  reserve. 
No  one  associated  with  him  in  the  mission  field 
could  imagine  him  acting  in  any  other  capacity  than 
as  a  foreign  missionary.  Before  he  accepted  the 
presidency  of  Euphrates  College,  he  wrote  in  the 
College  Constitution,  "The  President  shall  be  a 
missionary  of  the  Board  and  he  shall  not  by  accept- 
ing this  office,  lose  his  character  and  rights  as  a 
missionary."  He  allowed  nothing  from  without  to 
distract  his  attention  or  mfringe  upon  his  time.  He 
was  always  about  his  Master  s  business  like  one  who 
was  not  his  own,  but  who  had  been  bought  with  a 
price. 

He  was  most  versatile  in  his  ability.  He  erected 
in  Turkey,  making  the  plans  and  over-seeing  the 
workmen  in  the  minutest  detail,  over  twenty  build- 
ings, including  large  college  structures,  dwelling 
houses  and  churches.  He  laid  out  and  constructed 
water  courses,  wrote  text-books  and  other  works  in 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESS.  377 

Armenian,  was  the  author  of  "Ten  Years  on  the  Eu- 
phrates" and  other  books  which  have  had  wide  cir- 
culation in  America  and  Europe.  He  taught  at  one 
time  or  another  in  nearly  every  department  of  the 
Harpoot  Theological  Seminary  and  Euphrates  Col- 
lege, maintaining  to  the  last  his  power  as  a  preacher 
of  the  Gospel,  whose  bond  servant  he  was. 

His  energy  was  almost  unbounded.  Decision  and 
action  were  always  closely  connected  in  the  history 
of  his  life.  The  Turkish  proverb,  "Never  do  today 
what  you  can  put  off  till  tomorrow"  had  no  charms 
for  him.  Colleagues  in  the  mission  work  frequently 
found  decisions  made  and  executed  for  them  while 
they  were  discussing  the  question.  If  there  is  one 
word  that  characterizes  his  life,  it  isthe  word  "action." 
Rapidity  of  thought,  an  almost  intuitive  grasp  of 
conclusions,  and  the  immediate  carrying  out  of  the 
decision,  marked  his  whole  life  in  the  field. 

His  personal  convictions  were  positive  and  in 
most  cases  became  to  him  a  matter  of  principle. 
He  could  not  sacrifice  principle  for  anything,  no 
matter  how  much  pain  it  cost  him;  he  was  ready  to 
stand  for  what  he  sincerely  regarded  as  right,  though 
he  stood  alone  against  the  entire  forces  of  the 
mission. 

With  all  his  sturdiness  and  energy,  he  had  a 
heart  as  tender  and  sympathetic  as  a  woman's. 
Those,  who  in  distress  have  gone  to  him  — and  they 
are  many — always  testify  to  his  quickly  responsive 
nature.  This  characteristic  was  markedly  developed 
during  the  last  five  years  of  his  own  severe  suffer- 
ing.    At  times  his  greatest  pain  seemed  to  be  caused 


378  MEMORIAL  ADDRESS. 

by  the  fear  that  he  would  become  a  burden  to  those 
who  were  caring  for  him.  Even  to  the  last  he  was 
tenderly  thoughtful  of  others  and  marvelously  for- 
getful of  self. 

With  the  characteristics  mentioned,  Dr.  Wheeler 
was  a  positive  force  and  power  in  the  missionary 
work.  Mastering  the  Armenian  language  with  the 
same  energy  that  he  carried  into  all  his  work,  he 
used  it  with  fluency  and  power  in  preaching  the 
Gospel  of  Christ.  Great  gatherings  were  profound- 
ly moved  by  his  powerful  presentation  of  the  truth. 
Conviction  and  conversion  followed.  Three,  at 
least,  of  the  pastors  of  the  Harpoot  field,  who,  during 
the  past  few  months  have  put  on  the  martyr's 
crown,  were  led  to  Christ  by  him;  and  today,  with 
him,  together  with  hundreds  of  their  own  country- 
men, they  unite  in  praises  to  the  Lamb  that  was 
slain. 

Mr.  Wheeler  was  the  champion  of  self-support  in 
mission  work.  He  believed  that  the  people  should 
support  their  own  institutions,  pay  for  their  Chris- 
tian literature,  in  fact  be  ready  to  sacrifice  for 
the  Gospel  which  they  professed  to  love.  This  was 
to  him  so  clearly  the  only  correct  principle  upon 
which  missions  could  be  permanently  established, 
that  he  often  caused  pain  by  its  application,  but 
from  this  pain  grew  self-supporting,  independent 
schools  and  churches  as  the  crown  of  his  efforts. 
This  plan  of  mission  work  early  advocated  by  him, 
has  extended  from  Eastern  Turkey  into  all  of  the 
missions  of  our  Board  and  has  been  taken  up  by 
other  missionary  societies  largely  through  his  book, 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESS.  379 

••Ten  Years  on  the  Euphrates,"  and  is  now  a  gener- 
ally recognized  principle  of  substantial  mission 
growth. 

He  was  the  earnest  advocate  of  Christian  educa- 
tion, insisting  that  the  Christian  must  know  how  to 
read  the  word  of  God  in  order  to  be  an  intelligent 
and  stable  believer,  and  that  an  educated  native 
ministry  is  essential  to  the  future  progress  of  the 
work.  Early  insisting  upon  simple  village  schools, 
he  laid  the  foundation  for  the  many  high  schools 
which  finally  enlarged  into  Euphrates  College;  thus 
a  system  of  education  developed  in  that  field  which 
is  full  of  promise,  both  for  the  Protestants,  the  Gre- 
gorians  and  the  institutions  and  customs  of  this 
land.  Under  this  wise  management  it  is  doubtful  if 
any  community  has  a  better  system  of  schools  or  a 
larger  proportion  of  Armenians  who  can  read  and 
write,  or  who  are  better  supplied  with  the  Scriptures 
and  other  books  than  is  the  Harpoot  field. 

In  female  education  Dr.  Wheeler  was  a  pioneer. 
He  early  conceived  the  idea  that  in  order  to  build 
up  a  strong  church  the  Christian  home  must  be  in- 
stituted and  for  this  the  wife  and  mother  must  needs 
be  lifted  by  the  power  of  Christian  education  from 
the  menial  position  which  she  occupied.  The  con- 
test was  long  and  fierce  but  victory  rested  where  it 
is  wont  to  rest,  on  the  brow  of  him  who  fought  for 
a  principle  and  not  an  idea.  He  lived  to  see  the  fe- 
male department  in  Euphrates  College  with  all  the 
outside  schools  for  girls  extending  down  through 
the  village  schools  to  the  kindergarten,  among  the 


38o  MEMORIAL  ADDRESS. 

most  popular  and  well  patronized  institutions  of  the 
land  and  extensively  copied  by  other  communities. 

His  closing  months  in  Harpoot  were  sad  ones  in- 
deed. It  had  been  the  hope  of  his  life  that  in  death 
his  body  might  lie  side  by  side  with  many  who  had 
been  led  to  Christ  by  his  preaching,  under  the  shadow 
of  the  College  buildings  which  he  had  erected,  over- 
looking the  broad  Euphrates  plain,  dotted  with 
churches  and  filled  with  Christian  schools.  For  four 
years  some  of  his  friends  had  advised  him  to  come 
to  the  United  States,  where  he  could  secure  medical 
care  and  find  more  relief  from  his  physical  suffering. 
But  he  would  not  entertain  the  thought.  He  wished 
to  have  his  grave  in  Armenia. 

For  five  years  an  invalid,  suffering  a  hundred 
deaths,  he  waited  patiently  at  the  post  of  service 
for  the  summons  of  his  Master.  While  thus  wait- 
ing the  awful  tide  of  fire  and  blood  began  to  sweep 
across  the  Euphrates  up  towards  the  city,  engulfing 
the  villages  and  hamlets  in  which  had  been  estab- 
lished churches  and  schools.  From  his  window  and 
roof,  Mr.  Wheeler  watched  the  gradual  approach  of 
the  demon  of  darkness.  On  the  nth  of  November, 
last,  it  came  to  him.  With  his  house  in  flames, 
without  hat  or  change  of  garments,  he  was  carried 
from  his  burning  home  by  the  aid  of  his  Koordish 
students,  who  were  first  to  reach  him  in  his  dire  ne- 
cessity. Twenty-five  years  ago  he  inaugurated  a 
mission  work  in  Koordistan,  and  now  the  young 
men  from  that  mission  field  were  the  first  to  render 
him  service.  Driven  from  burning  houses,  one  after 
the  other,  fired  upon  by    Turks    and  Koords,   sur- 


MEMORIAL  ADDRESS.  381 

rounded  by  the  wounded  and  the  dying,  he  was 
finally  carried  to  the  library  room  in  the  last  build- 
ing he  himself  had  erected  for  the  College,  and  there 
he  remained  with  500  stricken  Armenians. 

Surrounded  by  a  circle  of  flame,  pillage,  and 
slaughter,  which  were  apparently  destroying  the 
work  of  a  life-time,  and  seeing  the  terrible  terror 
and  woe  of  the  suffering  people  about  him,  he  did 
not  lose  courage  or  faith.  The  old  energy  asserted 
itself  and  he  longed  for  the  strength  of  earlier  years 
that  he  might  once  more  throw  himself  into  the 
work.  For  hours  death  for  the  entire  mission  cir- 
cle seemed  inevitable  and  he,  with  the  rest,  stood 
ready  to  die.  —  Stripped  of  everything,  with  no  shel- 
ter for  his  head,  no  comforts  for  his  body,  it  was 
deemed  necessary  by  his  friends  that  he  come  to 
this  country.  In  this  decision  he  acquiesced.  When 
the  day  for  his  departure  came,  the  professors  of  the 
College  tenderly  took  him  in  their  arms  and  carried 
him  to  the  large  College  hall,  where,  with  hymns 
written  for  the  occasion  and  addresses  of  farewell, 
the  teachers,  students  and  friends  took  final  leave  of 
their  beloved  leader  and  president.  Then  in  a  long 
procession  they  passed  his  chair  and  dropped  a  tear 
and  impressed  a  kiss  upon  his  hand  for  the  last  time. 
Loving  arms  bore  him  to  the  wagon  that  stood  ready 
to  carry  him  over  the  500  miles  of  Asia  Minor's  des- 
olated waste  to  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea. 

During  his  last  days  here  in  Auburndale,  his  mind 
constantly  turned  to  Turkey  and  her  people.  More 
and  more  his  prayers  have  been  uttered  in  the  Ar- 


382  MEMORIAL  ADDRESS. 

menian  tongue.  On  the  morning  of  his  departure, 
he  was  heard  to  say  in  Armenian:  "Oh  Lord,  I  am 
about  to  die.     Let  it  be  soon." 

A  little  later  as  one  of  his  family  was  reading  to 
him,  "He  that  overcometh  I  will  make  him  a  pillar 
in  the  temple  of  my  God  and  he  shall  go  out  thence 
no  more,"  his  spirit  was  liberated. 

•'How  beautiful  it  is  for  man  to  die 
Upon  the  walls  of  Zion;  to  be  called, 
Like  a  watch-worn  and  weary  sentinel, 
To  put  his  armor  off  and  rest —  in  Heaven." 


A  TRIBUTE  OF  AFFECTION. 

From  the  Warren  Church,  Forty  Years 
After  Mr.  Wheeler  Left  It. 

Warren,  Me.,  Dec.  31,  1896. 

My  Dear  Miss  Wheeler: — 

I  wish  you  could  have  been 
present  at  our  services  in  memory  of  your  father. 
There  were  many  tender  and  appreciative  tributes 
to  the  strength  and  nobility  of  his  character.  Some 
who  were  already  in  active  service  when  he  came 
here,  spoke  of  his  wisdom  and  efificiency  as  pastor; 
others  who  enlisted  in  the  army  of  the  cross  through 
his  influence  referred  to  his  zeal  and  earnestness  as 
an  evangelist;  while  some  who  were  his  boys  and 
girls,  now  grey-haired  men  and  women,  recalled  his 
faithful  and  loving  instruction  of  the  children  in  Bib- 
lical truth. 

The  whole  service  was  a  witness  to  the  lasting  im- 
press which  his  ministry  has  left  upon  this  church 
and  community;  and  to  the  inspiration  that  has 
come  to  it  from  the  noble  enthusiasm  and  splendid 
devotion  of*his  forty  years'  service  in  the  mission 
field. 

Yours  cordially, 

Edward  P.  Stearns, 

Pastor. 

Several  other  tributes  which  we  have  received  are  omitted  for  want  of 
room;  and  because  we  cannot  but  feel  that  a  man's  teachings  and  doings 
are  his  best  testimonial  for  the  world  at  large.  Yet  this  one,  so  quaintly  pic- 
turesque and  yet  so  simple,  we  could  not  refrain  from  printing.  While  Dr. 
Barton's  address  we  give  for  its  historic  value. 

383 


INDEX. 


Accuracy— Lessons  in  accu- 
racy, 314.  Mr.  Wheeler's 
love  of  accuracy,  85. 

Accusing  the  missionary  of 
insincerity,  205. 

Adults — Cannot  be  reached 
simply  or  chiefly  through 
children,  290.  False  econo- 
my of  working  too  much 
for  children,  173. 

Advice  Giving — Should  be 
more  systematic,  309,  Mr. 
Wheeler  as  an  advice-giv- 
er, 336.  Also  see  Personal 
Work. 

Aid — See  Helping,  Self-Sup- 
porting, Money,  Mission 
Grants,  etc  • 

America — The  American  fe- 
ver, 326.  Going  to  Ameri- 
ca for  an  education,  328  and 
223.  Raising  money  in 
America,  266. 

Anderson,  Dr.  Rufus  Ander- 
son— His  educational  poli- 
cy, 324,  321  and  also  page 
8.  His  opinion  as  to  the 
need  of  native  pastors,  153. 
And  should  missionaries 
marry?  105,  note. 

Annual  Meeting  Majorities, 
265  and  102. 

Applying  Truth  to  Life,  27. 

Austria — Self-support  in,  277 
and  279. 

384 


Authority — Need  of  authori- 
ty, 46.  Need  of  leaders 
who  have  authority,  100. 
Refusing  to  obey,  47  and  48. 

Backsliding — Open  backslid- 
ing better  than  secret  hy- 
pocrisy, 285. 

Baptism — See  Sacraments. 

Barnum,  Rev.  H.  N.  Barnum, 
D.  D. — Beginnings  of  self- 
support  at  Harpoot,  251. 

Barton,  Rev.  James  L.  Bar- 
ton, D.  D. — Introductory 
note,  p.  3.  Memorial  ad- 
dress, 373. 

Belief — Relying  too  much  on 
mere  belief,  310. 

Benevolence — See  Love,  Giv- 
ing and  Helping. 

Bible — Helps  in  using  the  Bi- 
ble rightly,  74.  Also  see 
Creeds   and  Bible  Classes. 

Bible  Classes — Mr.  Wheeler 
as  a  Bible  class  teacher,  177. 
A  Bible  class  for  young  the- 
ologues,  176.  How  to  make 
Bible  classes  interesting, 
308. 

Bible  Societies — Local,  65  and 
36. 

Bible  Women — Support  of 
Bible  women,  358.  Grow- 
ing importance  of  their 
work,  357. 

Bigness   versus  Quality,  143. 


INDEX. 


385 


Blessings  of  Old  Age,  360. 

Boarding  Round-From  house 
to  house,  253  and  254. 

Boarding  Schools — For  boys 
303.  For  girls,  356.  Dan- 
ger of  admitting  pupils  too 
freely,  345.  Also  see  Edu- 
cation. 

Books — Shall  the  missionary 
sell  books?  63  and  57.  Sell- 
ing versus  giving  away,  235. 
Total  sales  in  Harpoot  for 
ten  years,  235,  note.  Book 
sales  in  China,  235,  note. 
Selling  books  in  Warren, 
36.  Lending  tracts,  237. 
Renting  school  books,  357. 

Bright  Side — Finding  the 
bright  side,  and  speaking 
of  it,  96.  Also  see  Good 
News  Reports. 

Building  Churches,  Schools 
and  Parsonages,  209,  Build- 
ing too  fine  a  church,  210 
and  155.  Renting  often 
better  than  building,  211. 
Building  schools  at  foreign 
expense,  when  they  ought 
to  be  furnished  by  the  peo- 
ple themselves,  291.  Using 
one  and  the  same  room  for 
chapel  and  school  house, 
292,  note. 

Burden  Bearing — B  earing 
one  another's  burdens,  188. 
Bearing  every  man  his  own 
burdens,  189.  Needless 
burden-bearing;  or  "God's 
burdens  and  not  ours,"  87. 


Business  Ability — Need  of,99. 

Buying  Churches,  Schools 
and  Parsonages,  211. 

Carefulness  to  be  Right,  86. 

Carey,  Wm.  Carey — His  use 
of  a  very  large  salary,  216. 

Ceylon — Progress  of  self-sup- 
port in,  277  and  279.  Sale 
of  books  in,  238. 

Changing  One's  Mind,  in. 

Character — Importance  o  f 
the  power  to  read  charac- 
ter, 35  and  45;  some  further 
details,  113.  Lessons  in 
reading  character,  178. 
Ways  of  developing  char- 
acter (in  school),  306  to  313. 
Good  and  bad  effects  of 
study  on  character,  179, 
294;  and  other  parts  of 
Chapter  XV.  Making  pro- 
motion conditional  on  char- 
acter, 331  and  339.  The 
missionary's   character,  85. 

Charity — See  Helping  the 
Poor. 

Children — Working  for  chil- 
dren alone  not  enough,  290 
and  173.  Mr.Wheeler's  love 
for  children,  320.  But  for 
details  see  Education  and 
Kindergartens. 

China — Progress  of  self-sup- 
port in,  277  and  279.  Book 
sales  in,  236,  note.  Com- 
mon Schools  in,  317,  note. 
Medical  missions  in,  232. 
Growth  of  churches  for  last 
nineteen  years,  233. 

(25) 


386 


INDEX. 


Choosing  a  Field-Mr.  Wheel- 
er's reasons  for  not  going 
abroad  earlier,  30.  A  grad- 
ual change  of  mind,  38.  Fi- 
nal choice  of  a  field,  (a  dis- 
cussion of  general  princi- 
ples) 46  to  48. 

Christ — Christ  as  a  Friend,  78. 
Man's  need  of  a  Saviour,  77, 
Theories  of  the  atonement, 
78  and  79. 

Churches-Planting  churches, 
147.  Conditions  of  church 
membership,  149.  Local 
versus  union  churches,  150. 
Pastorless  churches,  151. 
Self-supporting  churches, 
seeSelf-Support.  Self-gov- 
erning churches,  154.  Large 
and  small  churches,  155. 
Industrious  churches,  156. 
Local  missionary  societies, 
home  and  foreign,  158  and 
160.  Ecclesiastical  organi- 
zations, 163.  Cooperation, 
164.  Church  treasuries,  200 
and  201.  Church  buildings 
— See  Building. 

City  Missionary  Methods — 
Why  not  suited  to  foreign 
missions,  59  and  125.  Prop- 
er time  and  place  for  city 
missionary  methods,  127. 

Civilization — Why  not  give  it 
first?  120  to  122. 

-Clark,  Rev.  N.  G.  Clark,  D.D. 
— His  work  as  a  superinten- 
dent of  missions,  loi. 


Clearness  of  Perception,  85. — 
Also  see  Insight. 

Colleges— Founding  colleges; 
its  benefits  and  dangers, 
289.  College  endowments, 
299,  Choiceof  trustees,  313. 
Reasons  for  founding  a  col- 
lege, 296.  Euphrates  Col- 
lege, 296  and  298;  and  all  of 
chapters  15  and  16. 

College  Discipline — Should 
not  be  hasty,  20.  But 
should  be  firm,  313. 

Colporteurs — See  Books. 

Common  Schools — Impor- 
tance of,  290.  Possibility 
of  attachidg  too  much  im- 
portance to  them,  as  a  help 
in  reaching  adults,  290;  and 
as  a  means  of  raising  up 
preachers,  173.  Spending 
too  much  time  in  schools, 
293.  The  primary  depart- 
ment of  Euphrates  College; 
male,  320;  female,  354. 
Common  schools  in  China, 
317,  note.  Making  the  peo- 
p  1  e  support  their  own 
schools,  291. 

Common  Sense— Need  of 
common  sense,  23.  Its  val- 
ue in  slowly  correcting 
one's  creed,  75.  Its  absence 
a  common  cause  of  failure, 
84. 

Comparative  Statistics — How 
to  increase  their  value,  286. 


INDEX. 


387 


Confessing  Christ  in  Simpler 
Ways  First,  248. 

Conscience — Ignoring  con- 
science, 33.  Longing  to  do 
right,  89. 

Consistency — Not  always  a 
virtue,  89. 

Contributions — Raising  mon- 
ey in  America,  266.  Spe- 
cial contributions,  so  called, 
269.  Also  see  Money,  Self- 
Support,  Home  Missionary 
Societies,  Foreign  Mission- 
ary Societies,  etc. 

Conversation — S  e  e  Discus- 
sion, Advice-Giving,  Visit- 
ing, etc. 

Conversion — Need  of,  'j^.  Mr. 
Wheeler's  own  conversion, 
18.  Essential  to  church- 
membership,  149. 

Conviction  of  Sm,  76. 

Cooperation  of  Native  and 
Foreign  Workers — Its  ben- 
efits and  dangers,  164.  Al- 
s  o  see  Self-Governing 
Churches. 

Courage — And  how  to  in- 
crease it,  90. 

Courses  of  Study— In  the  The- 
ological Seminary,  176  to 
i83.  In  Euphrates  College 
and  its  preparatory  depart- 
ments.— Male  department, 
289  to  326;  Female  depart- 
ment, 341. 

Credulity — Cause  and  cure  of, 
310. 


Creeds^Creeds  and  how  to 
use  them,  73.  Importance 
of  having  a  right  creed,  73. 
Importance  of  using  it  wise- 
ly, 73  and  84.  Outgrowing 
a  faulty  creed,  75. 

Cross  Bearing — Need  of,  281 
and  282. 

Definiteness  of  Purpose,  87. 

Depravity — Human  Deprav- 
ity, 76.     Human  weakness, 

157. 

Dignity — false  ideas  of  digni- 
ty; in  selling  books,  63;  in 
digging  ditches,  178. 

Discontent  and  Misunder- 
standings, 282  and  325. 

Discussion — How  to  make  it 
profiiable,  116. 

Doing  Right — A  passionate 
longing  to  do  right,  89.  Also 
see  Conscience. 

Doing  Wrong  in  Little 
Things,  89. 

Dormitories — How  to  secure 
privacy  in,  355. 

Doubt — See  Perplexity  and 
Rationalism. 

Ecclesiastical  Organizations, 
163. 

Ecclesiastics  not  always  real 
leaders,  126. 

Education— Of  pastors  and 
preachers,  168.  Founding 
colleges,  289.  Female  ed- 
ucation, 341.  Euphrates 
College,  296,  298;  and  all  of 
chapters    15  and  16.     Reli- 


388 


INDEX. 


gion  and  education  how  re- 
lated? 289.  Importance  of 
common  schools,  290.  How 
to  select  the  best  teachers, 
290.  When  to  stop  stuffing 
the  memory,  294.  A  true 
philosophy  of  education, 
295.  Pressing  self-support, 
301,  356  and  239.  Ar- 
guments in  favor  of  free 
schools,  304.  Ways  of  de- 
veloping character,  306. 
Lessons  in  energy  and  ac- 
curacy, 314.  Experiments 
in  Industrial  Education, 
3i6and3i8.  The  children's 
corner,  320,  290  and  354. 
The  teaching  of  English, 
321  and  also  p.  8.  Making 
promotion  conditional  on 
character,  331.  Educating 
the  public,  332.  A  look  in- 
to the  future,  339.  Admit- 
ting too  many  pupils,  345. 
— For  further  details  see 
Colleges,  Theological  Sem- 
inaries, Common  Schools, 
etc. 

Energy — Lessons  in  energy, 
314.  Misdirected  energy, 
86. 

English — Shall  we  teach 
English?  321  and  324.  Al- 
so see  a  statement  of  con- 
trary opinions  by  Dr.  Ham- 
lin on  pages  8  and  10. 

Essentials  and  non-essentials, 
117.  But  what  are  man's 
deepest  needs?  120. 


Euphrates  College — Male  de- 
partment, 296  and  all  of 
chapter  15.  Female  de- 
partment, 341. 

Europe — Going  to  Europe  or 
America  for  an  education, 
328. 

Example — Winning  men  by 
example,  112.  Only  a 
Christian  can  teach  Chris- 
tianity, 292.  The  personal 
influence  of  each  teacher, 
307.  The  missionary's  wife, 
62. 

Experience — Lessons  from 
experience,  in.  The  reli- 
gious teachings  of  nature 
and  experience,  75. 

Experimental  stage  in  mis- 
sions, 144. 

Expert  Financiers — Need  of, 
288.  Also  see  Traveling 
Superintendents. 

Exploration — Missionary  Ex- 
plorers, 60. 

Fear — As  a  motive,  83. 

Female  Education— Page  341. 

Fickleness  and  Growth— How 
they  differ,  in.  Also"  see 
InconsistencY. 

Fitness  for  one's  work,  85. 

Foreign  Missions — Reasons 
for  favoring  them,  372. 

Foreign  Missionary  offerings 
of  the  native  churches,  160. 

Forgetting  One's  Self,  97. 

Forty  Years  Ago;  or  hard 
times  in  1861,  251. 


INDEX. 


389 


Four  Stages  of  Missionary 
Work,  144. 

Free  Gospel — Misinterpret- 
ing Scripture,  204.  Evil 
effects  of  making  the  Gos- 
pel too  cheap,  228.  Was 
Christ's  preaching  always 
free?  281  and  2. 

Free  Schools — Arguments  in 
favor  of,  304.  Reasons  for 
making  pupils  pay,  as  soon 
as  possible,  228.  Practical 
difficulties  in  the  way  and 
how  to  overcome  them, 
301  and  356. 

Friction— See  Misunderstand- 
ings. 

Friendly  Visits — See  Visiting. 

Future — Future  life,  82.  Fu- 
ture punishment,  83. 

Giving — The  duty  and  priv- 
ilege of  giving;  as  taught 
by  Scripture,  188  to  192; 
and  as  seen  in  experience, 
249.  But  how  much'i;shall 
we  give?  251  to  260  and  192 
to  196.  When  should  men 
begin  to  give?  251  and  256. 
First  lessons  in  giving,  256. 
Unwilling  givers,  257.  Giv- 
ing a  tenth,  259.  Giving 
every  week,  209,  Also  see 
Money  and  Helping. 

God — The  Fatherhood  of 
God,  ']'].     Also  see  Prayer. 

Good  News  Reports,  353. 

Gospel— The  Gospel.  See 
Preaching  and  Creeds. 


Grants  in  Aid — See  Mission 
Grants,  Money,  Self-Sup- 
port,  etc. 

Gulick— Dr.  Luther  H.  On 
misuse  of  money  in  Italy, 
199,  note. 

Hamlin — Rev.  Cyrus  Ham- 
lin, D.D.  Biographical  In- 
troduction, p.  5.  Criticism 
of  Dr.  Anderson's  educa- 
tional policy,  324  and  Intro- 
duction. 

Hard  Times — Hard  times  in 
1861,  and  what  came  of 
them,  251.  Being  grateful 
for  hard  times,  262.  How 
to  face  retrenchment,   260. 

Harpoot  City  and  its  sur- 
roundings, 50. 

Health — Should  not  be  sacri- 
ficed needlessly,  48. 

Heaven — The  Christian  con- 
ception of  Heaven,  82. 
Pain,  even   in  Heaven,  83. 

Helping — Helping  the  poor, 
243.  Helping  pupils  one 
by  one,  309.  Helping 
churches  financially;  -see 
Self-Supporting  Churches. 
Helping  students  financial- 
ly; General  principles,  239; 
Theologues,  183;  Boys  in 
school,  301;    Girls  in  school, 

.  356. [3 How  to  help  the  larg- 
est number  of  pupils  with  a 
given  sum  of  money,  263. 
Also  see  Giving,  Self-Sup- 
port and  Money. 


390 


INDEX. 


Higher  Christian  Life,  156. 

Home  Life — The  missionary's 
home  life,  105  and  23, 

Home  Missionary  Societies, 
158. 

Honesty — How  generous  giv- 
ing increases  it,  250. 

Hopefulness — Need  of  hope- 
fulness; and  how  to 
strengthen  it,  93.  Dimmed 
by  too  much  study,  26. 

Hospitality — May  be  carried 
too  far,  128.  But  should 
not  be  neglected,  128.  Its 
proper  place  as  a  stepping- 
stone  to  self-support,  254. 

House  to  House  Visitation — 
See  Visiting. 

Human  Nature — Importance 
of  studying  it  more  closely, 
see  Character.  Human 
depravity,  76.  Human 
weakness,  157. 

Humility— Normal  and  Ab- 
normal, 91. 

Hungry  Ones — Seeking  first 
for  those  who  are  hungry, 
136. 

Hypocrites — One  way  of  si- 
lencing them, '](). 

Inconsistency — Sometimes  a 
duty,  89.  Also  see  Fickle- 
ness. 

India — Self-support,  277  and 
279.  Touring  (Tinnevelly), 
134.  Sale  of  books,  237 
and  8.  Mr.  Wheeler's 
views  as  to  "Foundmg  Col- 
leges;    Its     Benefits     and 


Dangers"  (Chapter  15)  were 
also  largely  influenced  by 
a  study  of  educational 
methods  and  problems  in 
India. 

Industrial  Education — Ex- 
periments in,  316.  Proper 
limits  of,  318.  Wage  Prob- 
lems and  Labor  Bureaus, 
246. 

Infidelity — Danger  of  unin- 
tentionally making. infidels, 
123. 

Insight — Insight  versus  bril- 
liancy, 29,  note.  Its  blos- 
soming period,  363  and  4. 
Need  of  it,  84.  Also  see 
Clearness  of  Perception. 

Itinerating — See  Touring. 

Japan — Self-support  in,  276. 
Kindergartens  in,  35  5. 
Should  Oriental  trustees 
have  control  of  funds  raised 
in  America.^  313. 

Jesuits — Their  philosophy  of 
education,  295.  Worthless- 
ness  of  their  higher  culture, 
324.  Folly  of  spending 
money  as  freely  as  they 
sometimes  do,  155. 

Jesus — See  Christ, 

Kindergarten  Schools— At 
Harpoot,  320  and  354.  In 
Japan,  355. 

Kissing  the  Bible,  115. 

Labor  Bureaus,  246. 

Language— Helps  in  learn- 
ing a  new  language,  55. 


INDEX. 


391 


Law — Shall  we  ever  appeal 
to  the  hand  of  law  for  pro- 
tection? 72. 

Laymen — Need  of  Christian 
laymen,  330.  Lay  preach- 
ers in  pioneer  work,  158. 
Station  classes  for  laymen, 

347. 

Lazy  Churches,  202. 

Leadership— Importance  of 
reaching  leading  minds, 
124.  The  missionary  must 
be  a  natural  leader,  103. 
Training  of  native  religious 
leaders,  168.  Training 
women  to  become  leaders, 
347.  Ecclesiastics  not  al- 
ways real  leaders,  126. 

Learning — ^Mere  learning  not 
always  helpful,  179  and 
294.  Things  more  impor- 
tant than  learning,  121. 

Learning  the  Language,  55. 

Leaven — The  leaven  of  the 
Gospel,  124. 

Lending  Books  and  Tracts. 
See  Loan  Libraries. 

Lessons  from  Experience, 
III  and  75. 

"Let  the  minister  support 
himself" — Says  the  mean 
man,  205;  says  the  enthusi- 
ast, 224. 

Letter-Writing— Mr.  Wheel- 
er's love  of,  333.  But  it 
should  not  be  expected  of 
all,  333,  foot-note.  Often 
reveals  character  very 
clearly,  170. 


Littleness — Cannot  be  cured 
all  at  once,  123.  A  healthy 
littleness,  94. 

Loan  Libraries — Loaning 
text-books,  357.  Loaning 
tracts,  237. 

Local  Churches  (versus  Un- 
ion), 150. 

Local  Foreign  Missionary  So- 
cieties, 160. 

Local  Home  Missionary  So- 
cieties, 158. 

Local  Superintendents,  100 — 
Also  see  Expert  Financiers 
and  Annual  Meetings. 

Loneliness— Inevitable,    222. 

Longing  to  do  Right,  89. 

Longing  to  Save  Souls,  97. 

Love — Love  for  one's  neigh- 
bors, 80.  Fullness  of  love, 
94.  Love  that  makes  men 
patient,  95.  Love  of  self, 
80  and  289. 

Loveliness — 112. 

Magical  Conceptions  of 
Preaching,  130  and  135. 

Making  Every  Dollar  Count, 
218. 

Marriage — Should  Missiona- 
ries Marry?  Opinions  for 
and  against,  23,  105  and 
note. 

Massacres  of  1895,  P^ge  364. 
Meaning  of  same,  367. 

Medical  Missions — Benefits 
of,  220.  Danger  of  overdo- 
ing them,  232. 

Melancholy— tA  cure  for,  26. 


392 


INDEX. 


Memorial  Address  by  Rev. 
James    L.    Barton,    D.   D., 

373- 

Memorial  Services  at  War- 
ren, 383. 

Memory— When  to  Stop  Stuff- 
ing It.  294. 

Mexico — Progress  of  Self- 
Supp :)rt  in,  277  and  27Q. 

Micronesia — Self-Support  in, 
277  and  279. 

Ministers — See  Native  Help- 
ers and  Native  Pastors. 
Among  Alumni  of  Euphra- 
tes College,  329. 

Misinterpreting  Scripture, 
204. 

Mission  Grants— To  churches, 
200.  To  theologues,  183. 
To  other  students,  239.  For 
building  purposes,  209.  All 
grants  conditional,  201  and 
210.  Also  see  Money,  Help- 
ing, Salaries,  etc. 

Missionaries — How  many 
should  there  be  at  each  sta- 
tion, 140  to  146.  Also  133.— 
Ways  of  Supporting  Them, 
270. 

Missionary  Societies — Local 
missionary  societies,  home 
and  foreign,  among  the  na- 
tive churches,  158  and  160. 

Missionary  Work — Four 
Stages  of,  144. 

Misunderstandings— M  i  s  u  n- 
derstandings  that  result 
from  cooperation,  167.  Mis- 
understandings  that  result 


from  resisting  a  morbid  de- 
sire for  excessive  learning, 
325.  Misunderstandings 
and  abuse  in  general,  282. 
Too  many  foreign  w^orkers 
sometimes  a  cause  of  fric- 
tion, 141.  Wise  disturbers 
of  the  peace,  53. 

Mohammedans — Reasons  for 
not  preaching  to  them  very 
much  in  Turkey,  54. 

Money — For  the  proper  use  of 
money  in  church  work  on 
mission  soil,  see  "Self-Sup- 
porting Churches."  But 
also  see  Spending  money 
unwisely,  99.  Buying  real 
estate,  21 1.  Paying  too  high 
salaries,  214  to  224.  Rely- 
ing on  unpaid  workers,  224. 
Free  distribution  of  books, 
235.  Support  of  medical 
missions,  229.  Helping  stu- 
dents; general  principles, 
239;  males,  301;  females, 
356;  theologues,  183.  Help- 
ing the  poor,  243.  Orphan- 
ages, 241.  Retrenchment, 
260.  Raising  money  i  n 
America,  266.  Need  of  ex- 
pert financiers,  288.  Mak- 
ing every  dollar  count,  218. 
Also  see  Giving  and  Help- 
ing. 

Moslems  in  Turkey — See  Mo- 
hammedans. 

Murdock— Rev.  John  M  u  r- 
dock.  Selling  books  in  In- 
dia and  Ceylon,  237  and  238. 


INDEX. 


393 


Native  Churches-See  Church- 
es and  Self-S  upporting- 
Churches 

Native  Helpers-Proper  train- 
ing of,  i68  to  187.  How 
many  of  them  shall  we  have  ? 
168.  How  to  get  the  best 
men,  171.  What  to  teach 
them,  176.  How  much  to 
teach  them,  179.  How  long 
to  teach  them,  182  and  184. 

Native  Pastors — Pastorless 
churches,  151.  Propertrain- 
ing  of  pastors,  168.  Sal- 
aries of,  200,  214  and  2ig. 
Mr.  Wheeler's  own  pastor- 
ate at  Warren,  Me.,  28. 
Pastoral  duties,  brief  dis- 
cussion of,  28. 

Natives  Educated  Abroad, 
223. 

Nature — The  teachings  of 
nature  and  experience,  75. 
Love  of  nature,  98.  Natur- 
al scenery  around  Harpoot, 
51.  Pleasure  rides  among 
the  hills,  108. 

Needs — What  do  men  most 
need?  120  and  121. 

Neesima — Joseph.  Brief  ref- 
erence to,  223. 

Nevius — Dr.  Nevius'  plan  of 
relying  largely  on  unpaid 
workers,  224. 

Nicodemuses — One  way  of 
winning  them,  256. 

Nominal  Christian  Lands — 
Why  send  them  missiona- 
ries? 55. 


Number  of  missionaries  at 
each  station  in  various  mis- 
sions, 140  to  146.     Also  133. 

Number  of  Native  Helpers, 
169. 

Number  of  Outstations  to 
each  Station,  137. 

Obedience  to  Law — Parental 
law  not  always  absolute,  17 
and  18.  To  official  superi- 
ors, 46;  and  to  civil  law, 
46,  47  and  note. 

Old  Age — Blessings  of,  360. 
Lessons  of,  361. 

Originality — Need  of,  23. 

Orphanages— 241. 

Outstations — Not  having 
enough,  137;  statistics  of, 
138  and  9. 

Overwork  and  Depression,  26. 

Parental  law  not  always  ab- 
solute, 17  and  18. 

Parsonages — See  Building. 

Pastors — See  Native  Pastors. 

Patience — Love  that  makes 
men  patient,  95. 

Paul — For  his  ideas  on  tour- 
ing, self-support,  church 
organization,  etc.,  see  Tour- 
ing, Self-Support,  Native 
Pastors,  etc. — Paul  on  Mars 
Hill,  115. 

Pauperizing  the  People,  49. 
But  for  fuller  details  see 
Money  and  Self-Support. 

Pentecost — The  Day  of  Pen- 
tecost, 125. 

Perplexity — How  to  lessen  it, 
92  and  94   (top   of    page). 


394 


INDEX. 


Dishonest  perplexity,  76. 
Silence  often  more  helpful 
than  talk  at  such  times,  104. 
Also  see  Standing  Still  and 
Essentials  versus  Non-Es- 
sentials. 

Persecution— Its  benefits,  71. 
Not  always  wholly  unde- 
served, 71.  Appealing  to 
the  law  for  protection,  72. 
How  to  make  it  less  bitter, 
248.  Saul  and  Paul  con- 
trasted, 49  and  71.  Also 
see  Misunderstandings. 

Perseverance,  93. 

Personal  Work — Should  be 
more  systematic,  309.  Men 
more  apt  to  neglect  it  than 
women,  352  and  3, 

Philanthropy— Difference  be- 
tween mere  philanthropic 
work  and  missionary  work 
proper.  See  Poverty,  Or- 
phanages, etc. 

Philosophy — Mr.  Wheeler's 
philosophy  of  life;  and  also 
his  ideas  of  philosophy,  in- 
ductive, speculative  and 
practical,  27.  Also  his  hab- 
its of  thought,  107. 

Philosophy  of  Education- 
See  Chapter  Fifteen  (p. 
289)  and  Chapter  Eleven 
(p.  168). 

Planting  Churches,  147. 

Politics  in  the  Pulpit,  33. 

Positive  Doctrine— Impor- 
tance of  preaching  a  posi- 
tive Gospel,  122.  Fatal  ef- 
fects of  mere  negation,  123. 
A  woid  of  caution  to  pro- 
gressive thinkers,  84. 

Poverty — Its  bearings  on  self- 
support,  192  to  96.  Help- 
ing the  poor,  243.  "I  am 
too  poor,"  206.  Shall  books 
be  given  free  to  the  poor? 
238. 


Practicalness  or  Practical 
Wisdom,  88.  Also  see 
Common-Sense. 

Praising  People,  96. 

Prayer — Praying  for  his  pu- 
pils, one  by  one,  306.  An- 
swered and  unanswered 
prayers,  80.  Family  pray- 
ers, 106.  Teaching  women 
how  to  pray,  342. 

Prayer  Meetings — Should  not 
be  compulsory,  312. 

Preaching  the  Gospel — Four 
ways  of  preaching,  68.  Im- 
portance of  preaching  a 
positive  gospel,  122.  Also 
see  Public  Speaking. 

Prejudice — And  how  to  deal 
with  it,  114. 

Primary  Schools— See  Com- 
mon Schools. 

Principles  versus  Rules,  123. 

Printing  Presses,  305. 

Prizes— A  New  Way  of 
Awarding  Them,  318. 

Progress  in  the  History  of 
Missions,  52, 

Promotion  in  our  schools 
should  be  conditional  on 
character,  331. 

Pruning — Need  of  pruning, 
283;  of  chastening,  202. 
Punishment     and    repen- 

•    tance,  61  and  285. 

Public  Speaking — Four  ways 
of  preaching,  68.  Public 
speaking  and  strictly  pas- 
toral work  contrasted,  29. 

Pugnacity  not  a  good  thing,  32. 

Punishment — Punishing  evil 
doers,  72.  Punishment  and 
repentance,  61  and  285. 
Future  punishment,  83. 
Also  see  Pruning. 

Putting  on  Airs,  218. 

Raising  Money — In  America, 
266.  Raising  it  abroad,  see 
Self-Support. 


INDEX. 


395 


Rationalism — A  cure  for,  311. 

Mr.    Wheeler's    dread    of, 

310. 
Reading   Lessons    for    Men, 

67  and  57. 
Reading  Lessons  for  Women, 

343- 
Reasons  for  writing  this  book, 

335.  . 

Rebuking — Pugnacity  not  a 
good  thing,  32.  Knowing 
when  and  how  to  stop,  94. 

Reformatory  Power  of  Chris- 
tianity, 'j'j. 

Reformers  Should  not  be  Pug- 
nacious, 32. 

Religion — Religion  and  edu- 
cation how  related,  289.  Re- 
ligious duties;  see  Creeds, 
Church,  Character,  Prayer, 
etc. 

Renting  versus  Building,  211. 

Respect — For  even  fallen  hu- 
man nature,  95.  For  the 
people  among  whom  we 
work,  184. 

Retrenchment — How  to  face 
it  rightly,  260. 

Romance — The  Romance  of 
Missions,  94. 

Rules  versus  Principles,  123. 

Sacraments  should  not  be 
made  too  prominent,  150, 
Confessing  Christ  in  simple 
ways  first,  248. 

Salaries — Fixing  salaries,  214 
to  224.  Working  without  a 
salary,  224  and  216.  Cut- 
ting down  salaries,  264  and 
265.  Missionary  salaries, 
220. 

Salvation — Man's  Need  of  a 
Saviour,  Tj. 

School  s — S  ee  Common 
Schools,  Colleges,  Theolog- 
ical Seminaries,  Education, 
Building,  "Self-Support  in 
Education,"  etc. 


Secret  Lovers  of  the  Truth — 
One  way  of  winning  them, 
256. 

Self-Confidence,  92. 

Self-Denial — Proper  self-de- 
nial, 2ig.  Improper  self- 
denial,  220  and  223.  Is 
there  any  real  self-denial 
in  missionary  work?  222. 

Self-Forgetfulness,  97. 

Self-Government — S  e  1  f-gov- 
erning  churches,  154.  Ec- 
clesiastical organizations, 
163.  Proper  limits  of  coop- 
eration, 164. 

Selfishness— Selfish  goodness, 
33.  Selfishness  defined,  289 
and  footnote. 

Self-Love— A  duty,  289.  Al- 
so see  Self-Denial  and  Its 
Proper  Limits. 

Self-Sacrifice.  See  Self-De- 
nial. 

Self-SupDorting  Churches — 
The  need  of  burden-bear- 
ing, 188  and  249.  "But  the 
people  are  too  poor,"  192. 
How  soon  should  a  church 
be  formed?  196.  How  soon 
should  a  church  become 
wholly  self-supporting? 
198.  To  whom  should  mis- 
sion grants  be  made?  200. 
Should  the  churches  have 
a  common  treasury?  201. 
Making  all  grants  condi- 
tional, 201.  Who  shall  cir- 
culate the  subscription  pa- 
per? 203.  Building  church- 
es, schools  and  personages, 
209  and  155.  How  to  deal 
with  churches  already  form- 
ed on  a  wrong  financial  ba- 
sis, 212.  Paying  too  high 
salaries,  214.  Relying  too 
much  on  unpaid  workers, 
224.  "But  why  should  the 
people  give?"  249  and  188. 


396 


INDEX. 


How  much  should  they 
give?  And  when  should 
they  begin  to  give? 
249  and  251.  A  few  impor- 
tant statistics,  272.  A 
glance  at  some  other  mis- 
sions; or  progress  all  round 
the  world,  274.  A  compar- 
ison of  different  boards, 
280.  Also  see  need  of 
pruning,  283;  and  the  need 
of  more  definite  compara- 
tive statistics,  286. 

Self-Support  in  Educational 
Matters— Self-Support  i  ng 
common  schools,  291.  Help- 
ing or  not  helping  students 
financially,  239.  Details  in 
boys'  department,  301;  De- 
tails in  female  department, 
356.  In  theological  semi- 
nary, 183. 

Self-Supporting  Missionaries 
and  Pastors— "Let  him  sup- 
port himself;"  as  the  mean 
man  says  it,  205;  as  enthu- 
siasts say  it,  224. 

Selling  Books— See  Books. 

Seminaries — See  Theological 
Seminaries,  Female  Educa- 
tion, Colleges,  etc. 

Service  as  a  test  of  character, 
156. 

Silence — Being  too  silent,  40. 
Less  silent  in  later  years, 
363.  Not  being  silent 
enough,  104.  Silent  wit- 
nesses, 159. 

Sin — See  Depravity. 

Skill— Need  of  ever  increas- 
ing skill,  143  and  372. 

Slavery — The  Slavery  Ques- 
tion in  1853,  p.  32. 

Slow  and  Sure,  29,  note.  But 
also  see  Sure. 

Spain — Progress  of  Self-Sup- 
port in,  277  and  79. 


Spasmodic  Giving — Or  the 
spasmodic  stage  in  giving, 
280. 

Special  Contributions,  so 
called,  269. 

Standing  Still — The-powerto 
stand  still,  104. 

Station  Classes  for  Theo- 
logues,  186. 

Station  Classes  for  Laymen 
and    Laywomen,  347  and  8. 

Station  Meetings — Boyhood's 
memories  of,  61. 

Statistics — Of  Harpoot  work 
in  general,  272.  Of  pro- 
gress of  self-support  at 
Harpoot,  274.  01  progress 
of  self-support  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  274  and 
280.  Of  number  of  out- 
stations  in  various  missions, 
137.  Of  number  of  mis- 
sionaries at  each  station  in 
various  missions,  140;  of 
native  helpers,  169.  The 
need  of  more  definite  com- 
parative statistics,  286. 

Study — Mr.  Wheeler's  Con- 
ception of,  107. 

Studying  Characte  r — See 
Character. 

Subscription  Papers — How  to 
Circulate  them,  203  to  209. 

Summer  Schools,  185. 

Superintendents — N  e  e  d  of 
traveling  local  superintend- 
ents, 100  and  266.  Also  see 
Expert  Financiers. 

Support  of  Students — S  e  e 
Helping  Students. 

Sure — Be  sure  you  are  right, 
86.  Take  time  to  decide 
right,  118.  Do  not  waste 
your  energy  on  matters  of 
no  importance,  or  those 
which  cannot  be  wisely  set- 
tled till  later,  92.  Slow  and 
sure,  29,  note. 


INDEX. 


397 


Swapping  Labor  (Pastor  and 
People,)  254. 

Taylor — J.  Hudson  Taylor  on 
Touring,  328. 

Teachableness — How  does  it 
differ  from  childishness,  91. 

Teachers — How  to  get  the 
best  ones,  2go,  292,  etc.  A 
teacher's  personal  influ- 
ence, 292.  Need  of  truly 
Christian  teachers,  292. 

Teaching  People  how  to 
Read,  6-]. 

Teaching  Bible  Classes,    176. 

Teaching  Homiletics,  177. 

Teaching  Men  How  to  Think, 
177. 

Teaching  Churches  How  to 
Work,  147. 

Tenderness,  109. 

Tenth — Giving  a  Tenth,  259. 

Theological  Seminaries — Lo- 
cation and  number  of,  186. 
Terms  of  admission,  171  to 
175;  also  176.  Course 
of  study  in,  176  to 
183.  Support  of  students, 
183.  The  student  after 
graduation,  184. 

Thinking  Lessons — For  the- 
ologues,  177.  For  boys  of 
all  ages,  316.  Over-thought- 
fulness,  87.  The  difference 
between  our  seeing  and 
thinking  faculties,  86,  note. 

Time — The  shortness  of,  no 
excuse  for  blundering,  118. 

Tithing,  259. 

Too  Few  Missionaries  at  a 
Station,  140. 

Too  many— Too  many  pupils, 
345.  Having  too  many 
missionaries  at  some  sta- 
tions, 141.  Having  too 
many  irons  in  the  fire,    143. 

Touring  (or  Itinerating) — Im- 
portance   of    touring,      57. 


How  much  touring  shall  we 
do.?  128.  How  large  a  dis- 
trict shall  we  cover?  130. 

Tract  Distribution,  237.  Al- 
so see  Books. 

Traveling  Superintendents, 
100 — Also  see  Expert  Fi- 
nanciers and  Annual  Meet- 
ings. 

Treasury  Problems — Local 
church  treasuries,  200. 
Should  the  native  churches 
have  a  common  treasury? 
201.  Special  contributions, 
269.  For  still  others  see 
Money  and  Self-Support. 

Trust  Funds — Proper  use  of, 
217.     Misuse  of,  245. 

Turkey— Progress  of  self-sup- 
port in,  277  and  279.  But 
also  see  self-support  in  Har- 
poot,  274  and  251. 

Union  Churches— A  good 
thing,  150.  But  should  be 
divided  as  soon  as  possible, 

155- 

Union  Missionary  Societies, 
162. 

Unsuccessful  Stations — How 
to  deal  with  them,  265  and 
144..      Also  see  Pruning. 

Unwilling  Giver  s — Reasons 
for  sometimes  forcing  men 
to  give  unwillingly,  257. 

Vernacular  Education — See 
"English;  Shall  we  teach 
it?" 

Visiting  from  House  to  House 
— As  a  help  in  pioneer  work, 
61.  As  a  help  in  reaching 
women,  357. 

"Wages — Of  carpenters,  day- 
laborers,  etc.,  246.  Of  min- 
isters, teachers,  etc.,  see  Sal- 
aries. 

Weekly  Offerings,  209. 


398 


INDEX. 


Wheeler  Rev.  C.  H. — For  a 
statement  of  Mr.  Wheeler's 
beliefs  and  methods  of  work 
the  reader  is  referred  to  top- 
ics like  Touring,  Teaching, 
Church-Planting,  Money, 
Self-Support,  Love,  Prayer, 
Bible  Study,  Education,  etc. 
What  we  give  here  is  sim- 
ply a  few  biographical  data. 
— Mr.  Wheeler's  boyhood, 
17.  His  college  life,  19. 
His  mother,  17,  26,  39  and 
42.  Experiences  as  a  young 
teacher,  22.  Studying  for 
the  ministry,  26.  Pastorate 
at  Warren,  29.  Departure 
for  Turkey,  38.  Appoint- 
ment to  Harpoot,  47.  Jour- 
ney to  Harpoot  and  arrival 
there,  49,  List  of  his  pub- 
lished works,  333.  Mr. 
Wheeler  as  an  educator, 
337.  Home  life,  105.  Old 
age,  360.  Final  return  to 
America,  366.  Going  home 
to  heaven,  370. 

Wheeler,  Mrs.  C.  H. — Early 
life  and  marriage,  23  and 
30.  Serious  illness,  42.  La- 
bors for   Yankton  College, 


25,  note.  Labors  for  Eu- 
phrates College,  351. 

"Whom  He  Loveth  He  Chas- 
teneth,"  202.  Also  see 
Pruning. 

"Whosoever  Hath,  to  Him 
Shall    be    Given,"  61    and 

134- 

Wmning  Men  by  Example — 
See  Example. 

Wisdom — Helps  in  acquiring 
It,  88.  Lack  of  practical 
wisdom  a  common  cause  of 
failure,  84. 

Women — Women's  rights  in 
Turkey,  343.  Teaching 
them  how  to  read,  343. 
House  to  house  visitation 
among,  357.  Female  edu- 
cation, 341. 

Worry — How  to  escape  from 
it,  87.  But  also  see  Hope- 
fulness. 

Young  Men — Their  place 
in  history;  or  what  they 
can  do  and  what  they  can't, 
364  and  29,  note. 

Zulus  -Progress  of  self-sup- 
port in  Zulu  mission,  277 
and  79. 


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